T II B 



ANCIENT CHURCH, 




FROM THE 



CAPTIVITY TO THE COMING OP CHRIST. 



BY ENOCH POND, 

PROFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT BANGOR. 



Written for the 31assachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
approved by the Committee of Picblication. 




BOSTON: 



MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository, No. 13 Cornhill. 

1851. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1851, 
By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 



in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 




CONTENTS. 



Introduction. ....... 5 

CHAPTER I. 

Nebuchadnezzar and his Successors. The Capture 
of Babylon by Cyrus. 21 

CHAP TEE II. 

The Medo-Persian Dominion, from Darius the Mede, 
to Xerxes the Great. The Return of the Jews, and 
the Rebuilding and Dedication of the Temple. . 36 

CHAPTER III. 

The Medo-Persian Empire continued. Artaxerxes 
Longimanus, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. . . 59 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Medo-Persian Empire, till its Overthrow. The 
Grecian, to the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus. . 87 

CHAPTER V. 

The Kings of Syria and Egypt. The Persecutions and 
Oppressions of Antiochus Epiphanes. . . .115 



4 V 



IV CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VI. 

Death of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Maccabees. 
Fulfillment of Daniel, Chapter XI. . . . 140 

CHAPTER VII. 

Exploits of the Maccabees. History of the Jews to 
the Death of John Hyrcanus 168 

CHAPTER VIII. 

History of the Jews to the end of the Asmonean 
Dynasty, and the commencement of the Reign of 
Herod 194 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Reign of Herod. His immediate Descendants. 
The Birth of Christ. . . . . . .221 

Conclusion. : 242 



THE 

m 

ANCIENT CHURCH. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Ecclesiastical History, in the larger sense, 
is a history of the whole church of God, under 
every dispensation, from the beginning to the 
present time. God began to have a real church 
on the earth as soon as there were any truly 
pious persons ; and he began to have a visible 
church, as soon as these pious persons became 
in any way embodied, so as to render their 
peculiar covenant relation to himself visible. 

It cannot be doubted that there w T as a 
church, and a visible church, before the flood. 
There were then " the sons of God," in dis- 
tinction from " the daughters of men." There 



l* 



6 INTKODUCTION. 

were those who " called on the name of the 
Lord," and walked righteously with him, in 
distinction from those who forgat and forsook 
him. (Gen. 4 : 26 ; 6:2.) 

The earliest form of church government, like 
that of civil government, was patriarchal. 
The head of a family, or the ancestors of a 
tribe, sustained to his descendants and depend- 
ents the relation both of ruler and priest. 
Those under him were not only his subjects, 
but in a sense his church. We have examples 
of this form of government in the case of 
Noah, of Melchizedek, of Job, of Lot, and of 
the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 

The church in the first ages had at least 
two outward ordinances ; the weekly Sabbath, 
and bloody sacrifices. Perhaps they had others 
of which we have no knowledge. They had 
also direct revelations from God, — truths, 
warnings, promises, threats, with other intima- 
tions of the Divine will. 

The ritual of the church underwent a 
change, in the time of Abraham. The true 
religion was now beginning to be corrupted, 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

and other gods were worshiped, at least in 
some places. (See Josh. 24 : 14, 15.) Fore- 
seeing the general defection about to ensue, 
God summoned Abraham from the land of his 
nativity, brought him into Canaan, established 
his covenant with him, and gave him a new 
and very significant outward rite ; I mean 
that of circumcision. The covenant now given 
to Abraham was properly a church covenant, 
and circumcision was an ordinance of the 
church. It is spoken of in the Scriptures as 
"the token of God's covenant," and as " a 
seal of the righteousness of faith." (Gen. 17 : 
11. Eom. 4: 11.) By the transaction here 
referred to, the posterity of Abraham, — or 
those of them who adhered to the covenant, — 
were constituted a visible church, and the only 
visible church which for a long time, existed 
in the earth. Accordingly, from this time 
God begins to speak of himself as the Grod of 
Abraham and of Israel, and of the children of 
Israel as in a peculiar, covenant sense, fm 
people. (See Ex. 3 : 6, 7.) 

The ritual of the church underwent another 



8 



INTRODUCTION. 



change, in the time of Moses. He was com- 
missioned to institute many new observances, 
some of them political, but more of them sym- 
bolical or typical. The object of these institu- 
tions was not, as some have supposed, to found 
a new Israelitish church, — to separate a 
people unto the Lord, to whom he had held 
before no covenant relation. It was rather, 
as Moses himself informs us, " to establish the 
children of Israel to be his people, as he had 
sworn unto their fathers, to Abrahan, to Isaac, 
and to Jacob." (Deut. 29 : 13.) These insti- 
tutions were adapted and designed to teach 
many important truths, to preserve the Israel- 
ites a separate and holy people, and to main- 
tain among them the true religion, until the 
great " Light of the world " should come. 

Not only the ritual of the church, but its 
government, also, underwent a change, at the 
time of Moses. Before, it was patriarchal ; 
now it became, to some extent, national. The 
Israelites ceased to be a mere tribe or clan, 
and became a nation. They grew to be a 
great and powerful nation, of which God 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

claimed to be the proper Sovereign, and 
in which church and state were in so many- 
ways united as to be inseparable. 

This church of Israel is that which existed 
all along under the former dispensation. It 
was the Zion of the Old Testament, often 
chastised for its corruptions, but never utterly 
forsaken ; to which the promises were made, 
and into which the Gentiles were, in after 
times, gathered. 

The history of the church, and its entire 
history, during the first three thousand years 
of its existence, is found in the Old Testament. 
And it is no slight honor put upon church 
history, and no slight recommendation of this 
branch of study, that it constitutes so large a 
portion of the Bible. The statements of 
Moses, and Joshua, and Samuel, and their 
successors are variously confirmed from other 
sources ; but very little, of historic value, can 
now be added to what they have themselves 
told us. 

It is no part of my present plan to dwell 
upon the history of the Old Testament, or to 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

detail anew the events there recorded. These 
are familiar to every reader of the Bible. 
My design rather is, to take up the history of 
the church, very nearly where the writers of 
the Old Testament leave it, and follow it 
down till the coming of Christ ; or in other 
words, to connect the history of the Old and 
Xew Testaments, so as to make of both one 
continuous whole : 

This is not, indeed, an altogether untrodden 
field. Others have gone over the ground 
before me. But their works are either too 
meagre to satisfy a rational inquirer, or too 
voluminous to admit of extensive circulation. 
Besides, some of these writers (Dean Pri- 
deaux, for example) discuss a variety of ques- 
tions which do not properly belong to the 
subject, and are not of interest to the common 
reader. 

The history which I propose to give of that 
interesting period, — from the captivity to the 
birth of Christ, must necessarily be brief; 
and yet I design it to be sufficiently full to 
enable the reader to form a judgment of the 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

principal characters introduced, and events re- 
corded, and to trace the dealings of God with 
his covenant people, from the days of the 
prophets to those of the Messiah. 

The original sources of information (aside 
from the Bible) with regard to the period be- 
fore us, are the Apocryphal books of the Old 
Testament, Philo Judaeus, Josephus, and the 
historical records of those kings and nations — 
the Assyrians and Persians, the Syrians and 
Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans — which 
were brought more or less into contact with 
the Jews. The compilations from these 
sources, in which I have been most interested, 
and to which I am most indebted, are Pri- 
deaux' Connexion, and Jahn's History of the 
Hebrew Commonwealth. 

As the first oppressors of the kingdoms of 
Judah and Israel were the Assyrians and 
Babylonians, it may be well to preface our 
narrative with a brief sketch — the briefest 
possible — of the history of these two great 
nations. 

Babylon was founded by Nimrod, a son of 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

Ham ; and Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, by 
Ashur, a son of Shem, about one hundred and 
ten years after the flood. (See Gen. 10 : 10, 
11.) Assyria derived its name from Ashur, 
and Nineveh from his son and successor 
Ninus. Babylon was situated on the Euphra- 
tes ; and Nineveh on the Tigris, some four 
degrees North of Babylon. Ninus, the first 
king of Nineveh, after its founder, -was an 
aspiring, ambitious man. He began a war of 
conquest, and was " the first," says Shuck- 
ford, " to break the peace of the world." He 
conquered the Babylonians, and annexed their 
city and territory to his empire. He was 
succeeded by his more ambitious wife, Semi- 
ramis, who removed the seat of empire from 
Nineveh to Babylon, and did much to adorn 
and strengthen this latter city. She was suc- 
ceeded by her son, Ninyas, who seems to have 
been a quiet, luxurious prince, who labored to 
improve his dominion rather than enlarge it, 
and who cultivated the arts of peace. 

After the death of Ninyas, the Assyrians 
are scarcely mentioned in history, for a long 



13 



period. Yve hear almost nothing, either of 
them or their rulers, for the next twelve 
hundred years. The probability is, that the 
empire continued, though in what condition, 
and with what fortunes, we do not know. It 
would seem that it could not have been very 
extensive, or we should have heard more of it 
in the earlier portions of the Old Testament.* 
In the days of the kings of Judah and 



# Among the kings who invaded Sodom, and whom 
Abraham conquered, were " Amraphal, king of Shinar," 
the very country in which Babylon was situated, and 
" Chederlaomer, king of Elam," which lay beyond the 
Tigris, (Gen. 14 : 1.) Perhaps one of these may have been, 
under another name, the king of Assyria. 

In the time of David, Assur, or Assyria, is spoken of as 
among those that were confederate against Israel ; probably 
in the war with Haderezer, king of Zobah, when David ex- 
tended his conquests to the Euphrates. (Compare Ps. 83: 
8, with 1 Chron. 18 : 3.) This would imply that the king- 
dom of Assyria was then in existence, though not of great 
extent or power. 

It is stated that Sesostris, one of the Egyptian king=, 
(who may have been cotemporary with Moses) carried his 
conquests even to India. If so, he must have encountered 
the king of Assyria. — It is earnestly hoped that the excava- 
tions now in progress at Kineyeh may throw light on the 
history of this ancient people. 

2 



14 



Israel (but precisely when is not known) the 
prophet Jonah was sent of God to denounce 
destruction upon Nineveh.* Nineveh was at 
this time " an exceeding great city, of three 
days journey — an indication that it had 
long been a prosperous city. Who that king 
of Nineveh was, who repented at the preach- 
ing of Jonah, and on whose account the city 
was spared, we are not informed. 

At a later period, during the reign of 
Menahem, king of Israel, " Pul, the king of 
Assyria came into the' land ; and Menahem 
gave him a thousand talents of silver, that his 
hand might be with him, to confirm the King- 
dom in his hand. And Menahem exacted the 
money of Israel to give to the king of Assyria. 
So the king of Assyria turned back, and 
stayed not there in the land." (2 Kings 15 : 
19, 20.) This is the first king of Assyria, 
whose name occurs in the Old Testament. 
It is generally believed that Pul, of the 



* We only know that it was previous to the time of Jero- 
boam, son of Joash, king of Israel. See 2 Kings 14 : 25. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

Scriptures, is the same as Sardanapalus of 
secular history. 

The Assyrian empire was at this time one ; 
but it was soon divided. Arbaces, governor 
of Media, and Belesis, governor of Babylon, 
conspired against Sardanapalus, slew him, and 
divided his kingdom between themselves ; the 
former reigning at Nineveh, and the latter at 
Babylon. Arbaces was the Tiglath-pileser 
of the Scriptures ; the same who fought 
against Pekah, king of Israel, and carried 
many of the Israelites into captivity. (2 Kings 
15 : 29.) Belesis was the same as Nabo- 
nassar, with whose reign commences the cel- 
ebrated astronomical era, called the era of 
Nabonassar. He is called Baladan in the 
Scriptures. (Is. 89 : 1.) 

Shalmaneser succeeded his father, Tiglath- 
pileser, and completed the conquest of the ten 
tribes of Israel. This event took place in the 
year before Christ 720. Among those who 
were carried captive at this time, was Tobit, 
with his wife Anna, and his son Tobias, as 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

related in one of the Apocryphal books of the 
Old Testament. (See Tobit, Chap. 1.) 

The same year in which Samaria was taken 
by Shalmaneser, Merodach-baladan, the son 
of Baladan (or Belesis) commenced his reign 
at Babylon. This is that king of Babylon 
who sent messengers and a present to king 
Hezekiah, on hearing of his recovery from 
sickness. (Is. 39 : 1.) 

Shalmaneser was succeeded on the throne 
of Assyria by his son, Sennacherib. He re- 
peatedly invaded Judea, and proudly threat- 
ened the destruction of Jerusalem ; but in 
answer to the prayers of Isaiah and Heze- 
kiah, and in rebuke of his own blasphemy, his 
army was terribly destroyed. The angel of 
the Lord went forth into the camp of the 
Assyrians, and smote, in a single night, 
185,000 men. " So Sennacherib departed, 
and returned to Nineveh. And it came to 
pass as he was worshiping in the house of 
Nisroch, his god, that two of his sons smote 
him with the sword ; and they escaped into 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his 
son reigned in his stead." (Is. 37 : 37, 38.) 

Esarhaddon came to the throne of his 
father, in the twenty-second year of king 
Hezekiah, and reigned, in great prosperity 
and glory, thirty-nine years. In the twenty- 
sixth year of his reign he vanquished the 
monarch of Babylon, and united that kingdom 
to his own. Soon after this, he invaded 
Palestine, and carried into captivity the poor 
remains of the ten tribes of Israel. He 
supplied their places with colonists from 
Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, Sepharvaim, and from 
other parts of his dominions. (See 2 Kings 
17: 24. Ezra 4: 2—10.) At the same 
time, he sent an army into Judea, and cap- 
tured Manasseh, one of the vilest and wicked- 
est of the kings of Jerusalem. He took Ma- 
nasseh with him to Babylon ; where his prison, 
his chains, and his deep afflictions, brought 
him to repentance. Upon Manasseh's hum- 
bling himself, and confessing his wrong, Esar- 
haddon restored him to his kingdom, where 

2* 



18 INTRODUCTION. 

he reigned in peace and prosperity till his 
death. (2 Chron. 33 : 11—16.) 

The successors of Esarhaddon were Sun- 
dochgeus his son, and Chynilidanus his grand- 
son ; both imbecile, luxurious, inglorious prin- 
ces, who accomplished nothing worthy of 
mention in history. Against the latter, Nabo- 
polassar, one of his generals, conspired ; took 
from him his kingdom ; and reigned at Baby- - 
Ion twenty-one years. Nabopolassar in con- 
nection with the Medes, put an end to the 
great city of Nineveh, when it had existed some 
sixteen hundred years. In this destruction 
were fulfilled the terrible predictions of the 
prophet Nahum against Nineveh ; and from 
this time, Babylon became the sole metropolis 
of the Assyrian empire. Nabopolassar was 
the father of the renowned Nebuchadnezzar, 
who destroyed Jerusalem, led the Jews into 
captivity, and with whom the following history 
will commence. 

One word, in this connection, with regard to 
the ten tribes of Israel. They were placed 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

by the kings of Assyria, who carried them 
away, " in Halah, and in Habor by the river 
of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." 
(2 Kings 17 : 6.) This was a mountainous 
country, in the Northern part of ancient Media 
and Assyria, near the head waters of the 
Tigris. From this period (720 before Christ) 
we hear little of the ten tribes as a distinct 
people, in either sacred or profane history. 
The probability is that a part of them, in 
course of time, became incorporated with the 
Jews, and were known as such. Another 
part found their way back to their own land, 
and uniting with those of their brethren who 
still remained there, and with those foreigners 
whom the kings of Assyria had planted in their 
cities, they constituted that mixed community, 
which was kncvvn for ages, and is still known, 
as the Samaritans. Still another part, it may 
be feared, went into a final apostasy from the 
true religion, and were lost among the nations 
where they dwelt. Much inquiry has been 
made, and for a long time, after the lost ten 



20 



tribes of Israel ; but it is hardly likely that 
they are now in existence, as a distinct com- 
munity, or that they will ever be found. 

Our history, therefore, lies chiefly with 
that other portion of God's ancient covenant 
people, the Jews. Commencing with Nebu- 
chadnezzar, w T ho led them into captivity, we 
shall follow them along, 'as best we may, till 
w T e arrive at gospel times, and emerge into 
the light of the Messiah's kingdom. 



21 



CHAPTER I. 

Nebuchadnezzar and his Successors. The 
Capture of Babylon by Cyrus. 



Nebuchadnezzar was the son of Nabopolas- 
sar, and succeeded his father on the throne of 
Babylon, in the year 607 before Christ. He 
was allied by marriage to the king of the 
Medes, and was an instrument in the hand of 
God of chastising most of the guilty nations 
of central and western Asia. He first invaded 
Judea, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of 
Josiah. Jerusalem was conquered at this 
time, and Jehoiakim was taken prisoner ; but 
upon his humbling himself to the king of Baby- 
ion, and consenting to become his vassal, his 
throne and kingdom were restored to him. It 
was at this time that the first captives were 
sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, among whom 
were Daniel and his three friends. This is 



22 



reckoned as the commencement of the seventy 
years captivity. 

Only three years after this, Jehoiakim 
rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, and entered 
into a confederacy with Pharaoh Necho, king 
of Egypt. Whereupon the Babylonians and 
their allies again invaded Judea, took Jehoia- 
kim prisoner, and slew him with the sword. 
His lifeless remains were cast out into the 
open field, having none to bury them ; thus 
fulfilling one of the prophecies of J eremiah : 
" Thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim, king of 
Judah, — His dead body shall be cast out in 
the day to the heat, and in the night to the 
frost ; and I will punish him and his seed for 
their iniquity." Jer. 36 : 30. In the progress 
of this war, Jehoiachim, the son of Jehoiakim, 
who had been placed upon the throne, was 
taken prisoner, and carried captive to Babylon, 
together with a vast number of the princes 
and principal inhabitants of the land. Among 
the exiles of this second captivity was the 
prophet Ezekiel. 

Jerusalem and the temple were still stand- 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 23 

ing, and many of the poorer class of the 
people remained in the land. Over these 
Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah, a brother of 
Jehoiakiin, exacting from him. at the same 
time, a most solemn oath to be true and faith- 
ful to himself. This engagement Zedekiah 
observed for several years ; but in the eighth 
year of his reign he violated it, and entered 
into confederacy vrith the king of Egypt. 
This brought Nebuchadnezzar again to Jeru- 
salem, vrith a great army, by vrhom the city 
vras closelv besieged, and after a time was 
taken and destroyed. The temple also was 
destroyed, and all its riches, and its holy 
vessels, together vrith a great multitude of 
people, were carried to Babylon. The sec- 
ond year after this, the Babylonians again 
swept over the land of Israel, and took away 
the poor remains of the scattered people ; the 
last company of exiles, amounting in all to 
M seven hundred forty and five persons." 
(Jer. 52 : 30). Thus was the land left deso- 
late and waste, to enjoy her Sabbaths, accord- 



24 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

ing to the denunciations of the prophets, until 
the time of the captivity should be fulfilled. 

After the destruction of Jerusalem, and the 
conquest of Tyre and Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar 
returned to Babylon, and applied himself to 
the strengthening and adorning of his capital. 
And this work he prosecuted with the utmost 
vigor, until he rendered Babylon, with its 
walls and towers, its gates and palaces, its 
temples and hanging gardens, the wonder of 
the world. When all this was accomplished, 
as he was walking one day in his palace, and 
looking out upon the splendors and luxuries of 
the place, he gave utterance to the pride of 
his heart in the following words : " Is not this 
great Babylon that I have built, for the house 
of the kingdom, by the might of my power, 
and for the honor of my majesty ? " Where- 
upon there befell him instantly, in rebuke of 
his pride, what the prophet Daniel had before 
declared : His reason and his kingdom were 
taken away ; he was driven from the society 
of men ; he had his dwelling with the brutes ; 
he did eat grass like an ox ; and his body was 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 25 

wet with the clew of heaven ; until his hair 
was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails 
like birds' claws. But at the end of seven 
years, his reason returned, and his former 
kingdom and majesty and glory were restored 
to him ; and then it was that he made the 
fallowing noble and humble confession : " I 
do bless the most High God, and praise and 
honor him who liveth forever and ever ; whose 
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and 
whose kingdom is from generation to genera- 
tion : and all the inhabitants of the earth are 
as nothing before him ; and he doeth accord- 
ing to his will, in the armies of heaven, and 
among the inhabitants of the earth, and none 
can stay his hand, or say unto him, What 
doest thou ? I do praise, and extol, and honor 
the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, 
and his ways are judgment, and those who 
walk in pride he is able to abase." (Dan. 
chap. 5). 

From this period, Nebuchadnezzar became, 
as I would fondly hope, a truly pious man. 
He died, however, in a little more than a year, 



26 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

having reigned, in great prosperity and glory, 
sole monarch of Babylon, for the long space of 
forty-three years. 

Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son, 
Merodach ; or as he is called in Scripture, 
Evil-Merodach. He showed favor to Jehoia- 
chim, a former king of Judah, who had pqjv 
been in confinement at Babylon thirty-seven 
years ; as the sacred writer expresses it, the 
king of Babylon u spake kindly to him, and 
set his throne above the thrones of the kings 
that were with him at Babylon, and changed 
his prison garments, and he did eat bread con- 
tinually before him all the days of his life." 
(2 Kings 25 : 28). The occasion of Jehoia- 
chim's being so kindly treated, according to an 
ancient Jewish tradition, was this: " Evil- 
Merodach, having had the government of the 
empire during his father's derangement, ad- 
ministered it so badly, that as soon as the old 
king came to himself, he shut him up in prison, 
and the place of his imprisonment being the 
same in which Jehoiachim had been so long 
confined,' he there formed a particular acquaint- 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 27 

ance with him, and friendship for him ; so that 
when the old king died, and Evil-Merodach 
came to the throne, he remembered Jehoia- 
chim, and showed him favor." 

This Evil-Merodach proved himself to be a 
profligate and vicious prince. He reigned only 
two years at Babylon, when Neriglissar, his 
sister's husband, conspired against him, slew 
him, and reigned in his stead. Jehoiachim, it 
seems, died before him, or what is more likely, 
was slain with him. While Jehoiachim lived, 
he was regarded by the Jews at Babylon as 
the Head or Prince of the captivity ; an office 
which descended to Salathiel, his son, and 
which was long continued among the Jews. 

Of Neriglissar, and his son and successor 
Laborosoarchod, no mention is made in the 
Scriptures. Their reigns were short and in- 
glorious ; the latter having been slain by his 
subjects when he had been king only nine 
months. He was succeeded by Nabonadius, a 
grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, who is called 
Belshazzar in the Scriptures. 

The Babylonian empire was now verging to 



28 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

its end, and God was preparing and raising up 
a terrible power for its overthrow. The king- 
dom of the Medes, lying North of Babylon, 
had long been one of great strength. It was 
now governed by Cyaxeres II., called in 
Scripture Darius the Mede. Another ancient 
kingdom, coming into notice in these days, 
was the Persian. This lay East of Babylon ; 
was founded by Elam, a grandson of Noah ; 
but never had distinguished itself among the 
nations, until the times of which we speak. 
Cyrus, who was now on the throne of Persia, 
was nephew to Cyaxeres (or Darius) the 
Mede. This brought the Medes and Persians 
into close alliance ; and the principal thing 
attempted by this alliance was the overthrow 
of Babylon. 

Cyrus, I hardly need say, was the greatest 
warrior of his age, and among the greatest of 
any age. He led the united forces of Media 
and Persia, and it was under his direction that 
Neriglissar, one -of the kings of Babylon, had 
before been slain. He was the chief com- 
batant, and ultimate conqueror of Nabonadius 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 29 



(or Belshazzar), the last monarch of Babylon ; 
but this conquest "was not effected without 
many battles, and long years of siege and war. 
Cyrus first thought it necessary to engage and 
subdue the confederate nations of Babylon. 
When this was accomplished, in the sixteenth 
year of the reign of Belshazzar, he laid siege 
to Babylon itself. This obviously was the 
only way in which the city could be taken ; 
and to capture it in this way, seemed almost a 
hopeless task. The walls were high and im- 
pregnable, and the number of men within to 
defend them was very great. They were fur- 
nished with provisions for twenty years, in 
addition to what might be raised from the 
gardens and tillage lands within the city. It 
is not strange, therefore, that the Babylonians, 
in their towers, scoffed at Cyrus, and derided 
his seemingly vain efforts to molest them. 

When two full years had passed away, and 
nothing effectual had been accomplished, 
Cyrus hit upon a stratagem, through which 
success seemed possible, and by which he at 
length, got possession of the city. Having 

QJ, 

° 



30 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

learned that on a set day, a great national 
festival was to be celebrated in Babylon, when 
the king and his people would spend the whole 
night in reveling, drunkenness, and other dis- 
orders, he thought this a favorable time to 
surprise them ; and for the effecting of his 
object, he adopted this device : He sent a 
party of his men up to the head of the canal, 
leading to a vast artificial lake, which had 
been excavated for the purpose of taking off 
the surplus waters of the river, with orders, at 
a time appointed, to remove the embankment 
between the river and canal, and draw off the 
whole current, or so much of it as possible 
into the lake/ At the same time, he opened 
the head of the trenches which had been dug 
round the city, and let the residue of the 
water into them. Meanwhile, he had posted 
one part of his army at the place where the 
river ran into the city, and the other v/here it 
came out, with orders to enter the city, by the 
channel of the river, so soon as they should 
find it fordable. Before midnight, the river 
was sufficiently drained, and both parties en- 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 31 

tered, through the opened passage, into the 
city. 

But here they must have encountered an 
insuperable obstacle, had it not been for the 
drunkenness, and consequent carelessness of 
those -within the walls. The brazen gates, 
which opened down to the river on either side, 
and which were always shut by night, hap- 
pened now to be left open ; and through them 
both parties of the invaders ascended directly 
into the city. Thus remarkably was a pro- 
phecy of Isaiah, addressed to Cyrus by name, 
and uttered more than a hundred years before 
he w^as born, fulfilled at this time ; " I will go 
before thee, and make the crooked places 
straight. I will open the two leaved gates, 
and the gates shall not be shut." (Is. 45 : 
1,2). 

The soldiers having entered the city in the 
manner described, proceeded directly to the 
palace, where Belshazzar and his lords were 
drinking wine out of the golden and silver 
vessels which had been plundered from the 
temple at Jerusalem ; and where the mysteri- 



82 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

ous hand-writing on the wall had just been 
interpreted by Daniel. Here they surprised 
and slew the guards ; and when, upon the 
noise, the palace gates were opened, they 
rushed forward and planted themselves within. 
The king and his nobles encountered them, 
sword in hand, but they, and all who resisted, 
were almost immediately slain. After this, a 
proclamation was issued, promising life and 
protection to such as would lay down their 
arms, and threatening destruction to those 
who refused. Whereupon, all quietly yielded 
to the conquerors, and Cyrus, without farther 
resistance, became master of the city. 

With the taking of Babylon, the Babylonish 
empire came to an end, — when it had existed 
(reckoning from the time of Nimrod), seven- 
teen hundred years. The city, to be sure, 
was not now destroyed, and yet it never flour- 
ished more. Its decline was gradual, but 
constant, until it became a heap of ruins ; and 
the place where it once stood is now scarcely 
to be distinguished. 

The causes which hastened the destruction 



i 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 33 

of this ancient city, aside from the ordinary 
ravages of time, were the following : 1. The 
Persians declined to adopt it, and make it the 
capital of their vast empire. Their kings 
preferred residing for the most part, at Shu- 
shan, on the river Ulai, some two hundred 
miles East of Babylon. It was here that Ne- 
hemiah attended upon king Artaxerxes, and 
that Esther resided with Ahasuerus. (Neh. 
1: 1. Esther 1: 2). 2. The revolt of the 
Babylonians, during the reign of Darius Hys- 
taspes, was to them and their city a most 
disastrous event. Babylon was captured a 
second time ; its massy gates were demolished ; 
its walls were, in part, broken down ; and 
three thousand of its nobles were put to death. 
8. When Xerxes returned from his disgrace- 
ful expedition into Greece, he passed through 
Babjdon, threw down the tower of Belus, and 
plundered the temples of their treasures. 4. 
The means employed by Cyrus for the capture 
of Babylon, operated as one of the causes of 
its ruin. The river, diverted from its original 
bed, never but partially returned. It over- 



34 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

flowed the surrounding country, and turned it 
into a great morass; thus fulfilling one of the 
predictions of Isaiah : 46 It shall be a posses- 
sion for the bittern, and for pools of water," 
(chap. 14 : 23). This cause of destruction 
Alexander the great undertook to remove, by 
restoring the river to its ancient channel ; but 
his untimely death put an end to his plans, 
and Babylon continued to suffer as before. 
5. The building of Seleucia, or as it is some- 
times called New Babylon, by one of the suc- 
cessors of Alexander, drew away from the old 
city a large portion of its inhabitants, and left 
its palaces and houses desolate. 6. Babylon 
was subject to the Parthians from the second 
century before Christ, down to the third cen- 
tury of the christian era ; and from their alter- 
nate violence and neglect, it suffered greatly. 
All succeeding writers bear testimony to its 
desolate condition. In the fourth century 
after Christ, Jerome tells us that it was used 
by the Persian princes as a park or hunting 
ground, the wild beasts being enclosed within 
its walls. Babylon was visited by Benjamin 



UNDER THE BABYLONIANS. 85 

of Tudela, a Jew, in the twelfth century after 
Christ, who saw nothing there but heaps of 
ruins ; and these were so full of serpents and 
venomous reptiles, that it was dangerous to 
inspect them. Thus terribly have the denun- 
ciations of the ancient prophets against Baby- 
lon been fulfilled : " It shall never be inhabited, 
neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to 
generation. Neither shall the Arabian pitch his 
tent there ; neither shall the shepherds make 
their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert 
shall lie there ; and their houses shall be full 
of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell 
there ; and satyrs shall dance there. And 
the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their 
desolate houses, and dragons in her pleasant 
palaces." (Is. 13: 20—22). 



36 



CHAPTER II. 

The Medo-Persian Dominion, from Darius 
the Mede, to Xerxes the Great The Re- 
turn of the Jews, and the Rebuilding and 
Dedication of the Temple. 

In my last Chapter, I spoke of the destruction 
of J erusalem, by Nebuchadnezzar, and of the 
captivity of the Jews at Babylon also of the 
conquest of Babylon by the combined forces 
of the Medes and Persians. When Babylon 
fell, the Jews, as a necessary consequence, 
changed masters. They came under the 
power of the Medes and Persians. I now 
propose to trace their history in connection 
with this new power. 

Upon the death of Belshazzar, Darius the 
Mede is said in Scripture to have taken the 
kingdom. (Dan. 5 : 81.) And this is true : 
For although Cyrus had gained it by his 
valor, yet, so long as his uncle lived, (who was 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIAXS. 37 

also his father-in-law), he allowed him not only 
a joint title to it, but the first place of honor 
in it. This is that Darius, who set over the 
kingdom an hundred and twenty princes ; and 
over these, three presidents, of whom Daniel 
was first ; and who thought to set Daniel over 
the whole realm. This is that Darius, who, to 
gratify the envy of his princes, cast Daniel 
into the den of lions ; and who, upon his 
miraculous deliverance, published a decree, 
that " men should everywhere tremble and 
fear before the God of Daniel ; for he is the 
living God, and steadfast forever, and his do- 
minion shall be even unto the end." (Dan. 
chap. 6.) 

While these things were transacting at 
Babylon, Cyrus and his army were in Syria, 
Palestine, and Egypt, subduing the restive 
nations, and setting in order the affairs of his 
vast kingdom. The symbolic ram was " push- 
ing westward, and northward, and southward, 
neither was there any that could deliver out 
of his hand." All was reduced under him as 

4 



38 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

far as to the Red Sea, and the very borders 
of Ethiopia. 

Cyrus was absent on this expedition about 
two years, when he was summoned home by 
the death of Darius. 

He now became sole monarch of the Medo- 
Persian empire, over which he reigned, in 
great prosperity, for the next seven years. 
This is called in Scripture, and also by Xeno- 
phon, the first year of the reign of Cyrus, 
though other historians commence his reign 
earlier. This is also the time, when the sev- 
enty years captivity of the Jews at Babylon 
was fulfilled, and when the first proclamation 
was issued for their return. (See Ezra 1 : 1.) 

Long before Jerusalem was destroyed, God 
had said to his people, by the mouth of Jere- 
miah : " Ye shall serve the king of Babylon 
seventy years ; " and " after seventy years 
shall be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit 
you, and perform my good word towards you, 
in causing you to return to this place." (Jer. 
25 : 11 ; 27 : 10.) At a still earlier period, 
God had spoken of Cyrus by name, as the 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 39 

instrument through whom the restoration of 
Israel was to be accomplished. It was Cyrus, 
^ho should u say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be 
built ; and to the temple, Thy foundations 
shall be laid." (Is. 44 : 28.) Accordingly, 
in the very first year of the reign of Cyrus, 
he " made proclamation throughout all his 
kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying : 
" Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord 
God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms 
of the earthy and he hath charged me to build 
him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 
Who is there among you, of all his people ? 
His God be with him, and let him go up to 
Jerusalem, and build the house of the Lord 
God of Israel, which is in Jerusalem. And 
whoso sojourneth in any place, let the men of 
his place help him with silver, and with gold, 
and with goods, and with beasts, besides the 
free-will offerings for the house of God, which 
is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1 : 2 — 4.) 

If any doubt whether the captivity of the 
Jews had now continued seventy years, the 
question may be easily settled. It commenced 



40 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



one year and two months previous to the 
death of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, when Daniel and his three friends, 
with many others, were carried away. It 
continued through the entire reigns of Nebu- 
chadnezzar, 43 years ; of Evil-Merodach, 2 
years ; of Neriglissar, 4 years ; of Belshazzar, 
17 years ; and of Darius the Mede, 2 years ; 
making a period of 69 years and two months. 
If we suppose the proclamation above quoted 
to have been issued in the tenth month of the 
first year of Cyrus (which is as early in the 
year as it could well be expected), w T e have 
precisely the term of 70 years, from the com- 
mencement of the captivity to the decree of 
restoration. 

All history ascribes to Daniel the chief 
instrumentality in procuring this decree ; and 
the supposition is a very reasonable one. 
Daniel was now a venerable man, an old min- 
ister of state, famed for his great wisdom all 
over the East, and of long experience in the 
management of public affairs. It is likely, 
also, that he held the same station (which was 



UNDER THE MEDOPERSI ANS . 41 

one of the highest authority, next to the king) 
under Cyrus, which he had held before ; for 
■we are told that u he prospered in the reign 
of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Per- 
sian." (Dan. 6 : 28.) He had learned from 
books, that the predicted years of captivity 
were now accomplished, and had been much 
in prayer for the restoration of his people. It 
is next to certain, therefore, that he would use 
his influence with Cyrus, to bring about this 
desirable event. It is evident from the pro- 
clamation of Cyrus, that he had seen and read 
those prophecies of Isaiah, in which he was 
designated as the restorer of the Jews ; and 
who so likely to make him acquainted with 
them, as his prime minister and chief coun- 
selor, Daniel ? 

In consequence of the decree of Cyrus, the 
Jews and Israelites gathered themselves to- 
gether out of the several parts of his empire, 
to the number of 43,000 ; with their servants, 
they numbered about 50,000. I say the Jews 
and Israelites gathered themselves together ; 
for the decree of emancipation extended to all 

4* 



42 



alike, and it is certain that many of the latter 
returned with the Jews. They had for their 
leaders Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, the 
son of Jehoiachim, of the seed royal, and 
Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, the high priest. 
Unto them were delivered, by the command 
of Cyrus, all the vessels of gold and of silver 
which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the 
old temple at Jerusalem. A part of these 
were now returned to Jerusalem, and the 
remainder were brought by Ezra, at a later 
period. 

From the great number of Jews who ac- 
cepted the invitation of Cyrus to return, it 
may be thought that only a few were left 
behind. But such was not the fact. Vast 
numbers, and those in general of the richest 
class, preferred to remain in Chaldea. The 
Jews have a proverb, that " it was only the 
bran that returned to Jerusalem ; the fine 
flour staid behind." Hence, from this time 
we find a multitude of Jews in those Eastern 
countries, w 7 here they continued until after the 
coming of Christ, and where their posterity 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 43 

may be found unto this day. Babylon was 
long the seat of a distinguished school of Jew- 
ish learning, from which the most elaborate of 
the Talmuds was afterwards issued.* 

The returning exiles under Zerubbabel and 
Jeshua arrived in Judea in the month Nisan, 
the first of their year, which answers to a 
part of our March and April. This was the 
second year of the reign of Cyrus, and 535 
years before Christ. Their first effort was to 
provide themselves dwellings, and to com- 
mence the cultivation of their fields ; but in 
the month Tisri, the seventh of their year, 
they all assembled at Jerusalem, and united 
in celebrating them great annual festivals. 
At the same time, they made a contribution 
for the rebuilding of the temple, amounting to 
more than 350,000 dollars of our money ; — a 

* We are told that " the gospel of the circumcision was 
committed unto Peter," (Gal. 2 : 7,) and he dates his first 
Epistle at Babylon. (1 Pet. 5 : 13.) It is much more likely 
that he was now among the Jews at the literal Babylon, or 
in its vicinity, than that he was at the mystical Babylon, or 
Rome. 



44 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

prodigious sum to be offered by these poor 
returned exiles ; an example of liberality such 
as the world has rarely seen. In the second 
month of the next year, the foundations of the 
new temple were laid, with great solemnity ; 
some shouting, and others weeping, so that 
" the noise was heard afar off." (Ez. 8 : 13.) 

This second temple was of equal dimensions 
with the first, having been built upon the same 
foundation. Still, it was, in many respects, 
far inferior. It was not built of such costly 
materials as the first, or adorned with such 
splendid ornaments, or surrounded with such 
elegant courts and buildings. It was also 
lacking in those peculiar tokens of the Divine 
presence and favor, — the original ark of the 
covenant, the dazzling Shekinah, the Urim and 
Thummim, the holy anointing oil, and the holy 
fire. But all these defects were more than 
compensated, when the Lord whom they 
sought came suddenly to his temple, and 
Christ, the true Shekinah, honored it with his 
presence and worship. In this respect, the 
glory of the latter house did far exceed the 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 45 

glory of the former ; and the prediction of 
Haggai, who foretold that it should be so, had 
a complete fulfillment. (Hag. 2 : 9.) 

When the Samaritans heard that the J ews 
had returned, and had commenced rebuilding 
the temple at Jerusalem, they sent messengers 
unto them, offering to assist them in the work, 
and K to unite with them in acts of worship, 
alledging that, ever since the days of Esarhad- 
don, they had worshiped the same God with 
the Jews. But Zerubbabel and Jeshua, with 
the elders of the people, declined their prof- 
fered assistance and fellowship ; and that for 
the following reasons : First, as these Samari- 
tans were not Israelites, but descendants, in 
part, of those foreigners whom Esarhaddon 
had planted in the cities of Israel, they were 
not included in the decree of Cyrus. Then, 
secondly, they were not true worshipers of the 
God of Israel, but served him in connection 
with their idols. " They feared the Lord, 
and served their own gods, after the manner 
of the nations whence they had been taken." 
(2 Kings, 17 : 33.) Besides, the leaders of 



46 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

the Jews had much reason to suspect them of 
improper motives. They had come, not to do 
them good, but hurt. They sought to be 
associated with them for purposes of mischief. 

The sequel proved, that these suspicions 
were too Avell founded. Because the Jews 
declined their assistance and fellowship, the 
Samaritans became henceforth, their bitterest 
enemies. They strove to the utmost to embar- 
rass and hinder them in their work. They 
could not, indeed, annul the decree of Cyrus ; 
but by bribes and slanders they contrived to 
prejudice his servants against them, and 
obstruct them in their important undertaking. 
For these causes, the building of the temple 
went slowly on, and was far from being com- 
pleted, when Cyrus, their great patron and 
benefactor, died. 

Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses, 
called by Ezra, Ahasuerus,* (chap. 4 : 6.) To 
him the enemies of the Jews made supplication 
against them ; and though he would not revoke 



* This Ahasuerus was not the husband of Esther. His 
reign dates at a much later period. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 47 

his father's decree, still, he rather discouraged 
than aided the work at Jerusalem. 

Cambyses died, after a reign of between 
seven and eight years, and was succeeded by 
Smerdis, an usurper, whom Ezra calls Art?, 
xerxes, (chap. 4 : 7.) Him the enemies of 
the Jews undertook to influence, and with 
more success. They wrote him a letter, a 
copy of which is preserved by Ezra, (chap. 4: 
7 — 16,) speaking of Jerusalem as being of 
old " a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings," 
and praying that the rebuilding of it and of 
the temple might be stopped. This had the 
desired effect. Forthwith, Smerdis issued an 
order against the Jews, which put a stop to 
their work during the remainder of his reign ; 
■ which, happily, continued only a few months. 

The successor of Smerdis was the renowned 
Darius Hystaspis, who reigned thirty-six years. 
Although on the death of Smerdis, his decree 
against Jerusalem was no longer in force, yet, 
discouraged by opposition, and too much en- 
grossed in their own concerns, the people 
neglected to enter, as they should have done, 



48 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

upon the work of the temple ; and for their 
negligence in this respect, they were visited 
with drought and famine. They were also 
stirred up to their duty, by the fervid appeals 
and remonstrances of the prophet Haggai. 
" Is it time for you, ye people, to dwell in 
your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste ? 
Go ye up to the mountain and bring wood, 
and build the house, and I will take pleasure 
in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord." 
(Hag. 1 : 4—8.) 

These and other like exhortations and prom- 
ises had the desired effect. The people arose, 
almost immediately, under the direction of 
their leaders, began to collect materials, and 
to carry forward the work of the house. 

Again, therefore, the Samaritans were ex- 
cited to opposition. They applied to Tatnai, 
who was prefect, under Darius, of Syria and 
Palestine, and to Shethar-boznai, governor of 
Samaria, and persuaded them to go up to 
Jerusalem, and put a stop to proceedings 
there. But Tatnai, who was evidently a man 
of justice and moderation, when he had sur- 



49 



veyed the work at Jerusalem, simply inquired 
of the Jews as to the authority under which 
they acted. And when they showed him the 
decree of Cyrus, he wrote to Darius, to know 
whether Cyrus had ever issued such a decree, 
and what his own pleasure in the case might 
be. In consequence of this inquiry, Darius 
made search, and found the decree of Cyrus ; 
he affirmed its authenticity ; he directed Tat- 
nai and Shethar-boznai to see it fully and 
effectually executed. He commanded that 
the tribute of the Samaritans should be paid 
over to the Jews, and that they should be lib- 
erally assisted with money, and with whatever 
else they needed. He finally ordered, that if 
any one should farther oppose them, or attempt 
in any way to hinder them in their work, a 
gallows should be made of the timber of his 
house, and that he himself should be hanged 
thereon. 

From this time the work of the temple went 
so rapidly on, than in three years more it was 
entirely finished. Twenty years had this 
second temple now been building, during the 



£0 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

greater part of which time, the people had 
been guided, cheered and strengthened, by 
the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah. It 
adds new interest to these prophecies, and 
helps to a right understanding of them, to re- 
member the times and occasions on which they 
were uttered. 

In the sixth year of the reign of Darius 
Hystaspes, and on the third day of the twelfth 
Jewish month, called the month Adar, the 
new temple at Jerusalem was dedicated. It 
was to all an occasion of great solemnity and 
rejoicing, when there were offered up " one 
hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, and four 
hundred iambs, besides twelve he goats for a sin 
offering, according to the number of the tribes 
of Israel." (Ez. 6 : 17.) We have here an 
intimation, that the persons concerned in this 
transaction were not merely Jews, but mem- 
bers, to some extent, of all the tribes of 
Israel. 

On the fourteenth day of the next month, 
which was the month Nisan, the passover was 
celebrated at the new temple, not only by 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 51 

those who had returned from captivity, but by 
all who were prepared to unite in the solem- 
nity. " Seven days they kept the feast of 
unleavened bread with joy ; for the Lord had 
made them joyful, and turned the heart of the 
king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their 
hands in the work of the God of Israel." 

When the temple had been built and dedi- 
cated, the Samaritans claimed that they were 
no longer under obligations to pay custom or 
tribute for this object. But on referring the 
question to Darius, he ordered that they 
should observe his edict, and pay their tribute 
as before. It was now needed for the support 
of the temple, as it had been previously for 
the building of it. From this period, we 
hear of no farther opposition from the Samar- 
itans, until the time of Sanbaliat and Nehe- 
miah. 

After the dedication of the temple, Darius 
reigned about thirty years. He was a prince 
of great wisdom, energy, clemency, and jus- 
tice, and next to Cyrus, was the most distin- 
guished benefactor of Israel who had yet 



52 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

appeared. It was through his favor, espe- 
cially, that the temple of God at Jerusalem 
was finished, and that public worship was there 
established and maintained. He was unfortu- 
nate in some of his military expeditions, more 
especially those against the Scythians and 
Athenians. It was during his reign, that the 
Persians lost the famous battle of Marathon. 
But he extended the empire of Cyrus in other 
directions, having added to it in the East a 
considerable part of India, and in the West, 
Thrace, Macedon, and the Ionian isles. 

It was during this reign, that the celebrated 
Persian philosopher, Zoroaster," flourished. 
He was not the author of the Magian philos- 
ophy, but only the reformer of it. And the 
principal improvements which he introduced 
are supposed to have been borrowed from the 
Jewish Scriptures, with which he must have 
had a considerable acquaintance. He pro- 

* There seems to have been a Chaldean Zoroaster, who 
flourished at a much earlier period. He may have been the 
author of Magianism, of which the Persian Zoroaster was 
but the reformer. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 53 

fessed, like Mahomet and other imposters, to 
have been in heaven, and to have learned the 
doctrines of religion there. He undertook to 
reform Magianism in its first principle, which 
was Dualism ; — a god of light, and a god of 
darkness ; the one the author of all that is 
good, and the other of all that is evil. In 
opposition to this, Zoroaster taught the doc- 
trine of one Supreme God, the prime original 
and author of all things ; and that the two 
great leaders in the conflict going on in the 
world are both of them derived and inferior 
divinities. The struggle between good and 
evil, he held " would continue to the end of 
the w T orld ; that then there will be a general 
resurrection, and day of judgment, in which 
all will be treated according to their works ; 
after which the angel of darkness and his fol- 
lowers shall go away to a world of their own, 
where they shall suffer in eternal darkness the 
punishment of their evil deeds ; whereas the 
angel of light, and his disciples, shall go to a 
world of light, to receive the endless rewards 
of their goodness. From this period, the two 

5# 



54 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



classes are to be forever separated, and light 
and darkness are no more to be mingled to all 
eternity." 

Like the more ancient Magians, Zoroaster 
abhorred images, but taught his followers to 
worship the sun and the fire ; not that he con- 
sidered either of these as a god, but that they 
were the special residences and brightest ex- 
hibitions of God. The book containing the 
revelations o 1 Zoroaster is called the Zenda- 
vista ; or by contraction, the Zend. He pre- 
sented a copy of it to Darius Hystaspes, bound 
in twelve volumes, each of which consisted of 
one hundred skins of vellum. The book is 
still preserved among the Magians of the East, 
and regarded by them with great veneration. 
The wise men who came from the East to 
worship our Saviour at his birth, were un- 
doubtedly philosophers of this class. Pre- 
tended fragments of the Zend have been pub- 
lished at different times, more particularly by 
the Gnostics and New Platonists after the time 
of Christ ; but these are entitled to little con- 
fidence. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 55 

Xerxes, sometimes called the great, the son 
of Darius and grandson of Cyrus, succeeded 
his father in the kingdom. He confirmed to 
the Jews at Jerusalem all the privileges which 
had been granted them by his father. In par- 
ticular, he ordered that the tribute from the 
Samaritans for the support of the temple should 
be paid. In the third year of his reign, 
Jeshua, the venerable high-priest at Jerusa- 
lem, died, and was succeeded in office by Je- 
hoiakim his son. The reign of Xerxes is 
chiefly remarkable for his most unfortunate ex- 
pedition into Greece. His preparations for 
this, in men, in money, and in naval arma- 
ments were immense. As had been predic- 
ted by Daniel, he literally " stirred up all 
against the realm of Grecia." (chap 11 : 2.) 
He entered into a league with the Carthagin- 
ians, by which they were to assist him with an 
army, and with ships. He drew together from 
all parts of his vast empire such a body of 
men as the world had never seen. According 
to Herodotus, his active forces, 4 when he ar- 
rived at the straits of Thermopylae, amounted 



56 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



to 2,642,610 men ; while the servants, eu- 
nuchs, women, sutlers, and others who follow- 
ed the camp, were thought to be as many 
more. Here then was a collection of more 
than five millions of souls, brought together at 
a single point, for the subjugation of Greece. 
Among them, Josephus informs us (and the 
statement is quite probable) were many J ews. 

My readers have all heard of the manner 
in which this unwieldly army of Asiatics was 
received at Thermopylae, by Leonidas and his 
invincible Spartans. They have read of the 
battle of Salamis, where the Greeks took and 
destroyed hundreds of the Persian ships, and 
obliged the rest to flee to the coasts of Asia. 
Upon the loss of his fleet, Xerxes, with the 
greater part of his army, hastened back into * 
Asia, and took up their winter quarters at 
Sarclis. Meanwhile, the Carthaginians, on 
whom he had relied to assist him, were so to- 
tally defeated in Sicily, that scarcely a man 
remained to tell of the disaster. On his re- 
tiring from Greece, Xerxes left Mardonius, 
one of his generals behind, with 350,000 men. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 57 

These encountered the Greeks the next year 
at Platsea, where they were utterly defeated, 
and the most of them slain. 

Thus ended this ill-planned and worse con- 
ducted expedition into Greece. Xerxes, on 
hearing of the defeat of his army at Plataea, 
and of the destruction of the remainder of his 
fleet at Mycale, (which occurred the same day) 
lost no time in getting back to Persia. He 
only stopped to destroy and to plunder all the 
idolatrous temples which came in his way. 
This he is supposed to have done, for two rea- 
sons : First, being himself a Magian, and a 
follower of Zoroaster, he was opposed to idol 
worship. And, secondly, he needed the spoils 
of the temples, to indemnify him for the enor- 
mous expenses of the war. It was at this time 
that he plundered the temples, and destroyed 
the images of Babylon. He overthrew the 
famed tower of Belus, as he passed on his 
way through Babylon to Shushan his capital ; 
thus fulfilling, without knowing it, the predic- 
tions of Jeremiah : " Bel is confounded ; Me- 
rodach is broken in pieces ; her idols are con- 
founded ; her images are broken in pieces." 



58 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



" I will do judgment upon all the graven im- 
ages of Babylon." (Jer. 50: 2; 51: 52.) 
From this time, we hear of no great Persian 
expedition into Greece ; but soon the tide of 
war flows in the other direction, and Greece 
is pouring her armies into Persia. 

The remainder of the reign of Xerxes was 
far from being honorable to him. After his 
return into Persia, he became involved in 
shameful domestic troubles, which could only 
be terminated by cruelty and blood. When 
these were at length adjusted, he gave him- 
self up to luxury and ease, minding nothing 
but the gratification of his pleasures and lusts ; 
on which account one of his military officers 
conspired against him, and slew him in his bed. 
He was succeeded by his third son, known in 
history as Artaxerxes Longimanus. He was 
called Londmanus, on account of the length 
of his arms and hands, with which, it is said, 
he could touch his knees when standing up- 
right. 

The account of his reign, and of the distin- 
guished favor which he showed to the Jews, 
will be given in the next chapter. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 59 



CHAPTER III. 

The Medo-Persian Empire continued. Ar- 
taxerxes Longimanus, Esther , Ezra, mid 
Nehemiah. 

My last chapter closed with some account of 
the reign of Xerxes, and of the condition of 
the Jews under his government. His suc- 
cessor, as I said, was his third son, Artaxerxes 
Longimanus, known in Scripture as Ahasue- 
rus, the husband of Esther-.* Artaxerxes had 
great difficulties to contend with in the begin- 
ning of his reign, more especially from those 
who had slain his father, and from his eldest 
brother, the governor of Bactria. But by his 
energy and wisdom, these were at length Over- 
come ; after which he set himself to reform 

* There is some doubt as to which of the Persian kings 
was the husband of Esther. Some have supposed it was 
Darius Hystaspes, others that it was Xerxes the great. I 
acquiesce in the conclusion of Prideaux, that it was Arta- 
xerxes Longimanus. 



60 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

abuses and disorders in the empire, to call the * 
governors of provinces to an account, and to 
remove such as had proved themselves unwor- 
thy. By these means, he not only strength- 
ened himself in the kingdom, but (what is 
more) in the affections and confidence of his 
subjects. 

In the third year of his reign, when every 
thing had been rightly established, he ap- 
pointed a solemn festival to be observed in his 
palace, for the term of one hundred and eighty 
days. And when these were concluded, he 
made another for the people that were in Shu- 
shan, seven days. His queen, at the same 
time, made a like entertainment, in her apart- 
ments, for the women. " On the seventh day, 
when the heart of the king was merry with 
wine, he commanded his seven chamberlains' 
to bring in the queen, with the crown royal 
upon her head, that he might show to the 
princes and people her beauty." But the fair 
queen resented this injunction, as being in- 
consistent with her dignity, and unbecoming 
the modesty of her sex. She would not come, 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIAXS. 61 

Upon this, the king was highly incensed, and 
called around him his wise counselors, that he 
might confer with them concerning the matter. 
Believing the example of disobedience which 
the queen had set to be one of dangerous influ- 
ence in the realm, they advised that she should 
be forthwith deposed and divorced, that she 
should come no more into the presence of the 
king, and that her royal estate should be given to 
another better than herself. This advice was 
accepted of the king, and a decree went forth 
for its immediate execution. 

The disgrace of queen Vashti prepared the 
way for the elevation of Esther ; whose story 
is told, with inimitable beauty, in the book 
which bears her name. Her Jewish name was 
Hadassah, but her Persian name was Esther. 
She was instrumental, as we shall see, in the 
hands of God, of promoting, in various ways, 
the interests of her people ; more especially 
of delivering them from a threatened destruc- 
tion, and of effecting the ruin of their proud 
and cruel enemy. In memory of this deliver- 
ance, an annual festival was long observed 
c 



62 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



among the Jews ; the feast of Purim, or the 
lots. In the seventh year of the reign of Ar- 
taxerxes, Ezra obtained of him and his coun- 
selors a commission to go up to Jerusalem, 
with as many of the Jews as were pleased to 
accompany him, with full power to settle the 
state and reform the church of Israel, and to 
govern both according to their own laws. This 
Ezra, who was a priest by descent, was a very 
learned and holy man. He was a faithful, 
useful, and Divinely inspired man. He is 
spoken of as " a ready scribe in the law of 
his God." 

The commission which he received from Ar- 
taxerxes is given at large in the seventh chap- 
ter of the book of Ezra. It is certainly very 
ample, granting every favor and all the au- 
thority which he could desire. He was author- 
ized to take with him any number of his people 
who were minded to go, and any amount in 
gold and silver, and in vessels for the house of 
the Lord, which might be contributed. " And 
whatsoever more shall be needed for the house 
of thy God, bestow it out of the king's treas- 



UXDEE THE MED0-PERSIAN3. 63 

ure house. I Artaxerxes do make a decree 
to all the treasurers that are beyond the river, 
that whatsoever Ezra, the scribe of the law of 
the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be 
done speedily. And thou, Ezra, according to 
the wisdom of thy God which is in thee, set 
magistrates and judges which may judge all 
the people that are beyond the river. And 
whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and 
the law of the king, let judgment be executed 
speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, 
or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, 
or to imprisonment." (Ez. 7 : 20 — 26.) 

From the purport of this remarkable de- 
cree, it may be inferred that Ezra was in high 
reputation at the Persian court for integrity 
and wisdom ; otherwise, such powers and lar- 
gesses had never been entrusted to him. It 
is further probable, that the hands of Morde- 
cai and Esther were in the thing, to help it 
forward ; because, without such intercessors, 
it would hardly have been thought of, and 
much less executed. 

Having received his comraission, Ezra com- 



64 THE ANCIENT QHURCH 

menced his journey from Babylon on the first 
day of the first J ewish month — about the mid- 
dle of our March. He halted a little at the 
river Ahava, till the rest of his company came 
up ; when in a solemn fast he commended both 
himself and them to the protection of the Al- 
mightj 7 . They then set forward on their way 
to Jerusalem, where they all safely arrived, on 
the first day of the fifth month, having been 
just four months on the journey. 

Arrived at the temple, Ezra delivered to the 
keepers of it the gifts and offerings which had 
been made by the king and his princes, and 
the people of Israel who remained in Chaldea, 
amounting to one hundred talents of gold, and 
six hundred and fifty talents of silver, together 
with vessels of gold and silver for the service 
of the temple, of exceeding value. He then 
entered upon his government, according to 
the king's decree, and continued in it, much 
to the edification and comfort of his people, 
for the next thirteen years, 

It is the opinion of Dean Prideaux, and other 
eminent chronologists, that the seventy weeks 



65 



of Daniel, at the close of which the Messiah 
was to be cut off, had their beginning with the 
above commission to Ezra, which was given in 
the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes. 
The prediction of Daniel is in the following 
words : M Seventy weeks are determined upon 
thy people, and upon the holy city, to finish 
the transgression, and to make an end of sins, 
and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to 
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal 
up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the 
most holy. Know, therefore, and understand, 
that from the going forth of the commandment 
to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Mes- 
siah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and 
threescore and two weeks. And after three- 
score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, 
but not for himself. And he shall confirm the 
covenant with many for one week ; and in the 
midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice 
and the oblation to cease. 5 ' (Dan. 9 : 24— 
27.) It has been generally understood, that 
in these seventy prophetic weeks, or 490 days, 
each day stands for a year ; so that the whole 

6* 



66 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

period designated is 490 years. Now it is a 
remarkable fact, that the period intervening 
between the seventh year of Artaxerxes, when 
the above commission w r as given to Ezra, and 
the year in which our Lord was crucified, is 
precisely 490 years.* I make this statement 
concerning the time, as one that may be re- 
lied upon, without going at all into the dis- 
puted questions respecting the true import and 
meaning of this interesting prophecy. 

It would be needless to repeat, in this con- 
nection, the story of Hainan's defeat, and 
Mordecai's advancement, and the deliverance 
of the Jews from meditated destruction through 
the intercession of queen Esther. These events 
took place in the twelfth and thirteenth years 
of the reign of Artaxerxes. For a narrative 
of them I refer my young readers to the book 
of Esther, with which no human account of 
the matter can compare. If any one doubts 



* Our Saviour was crucified in the year of the Julian pe- 
riod 4746. . The seventh year of Artaxerxes was the year 
of the Julian period 4256. The difference between these 
two numbers is 490. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 67 

that " pride goeth before destruction, and a 
haughty spirit before a fall ; " or doubts as to 
the odiousness and wretchedness of unsated 
malice, envy, and revenge, let him ponder the 
history of Hainan, as recorded in the book 
of God. 

When Ezra arrived at Jerusalem, he found 
the people much degenerated and corrupted, 
and much in need of a thorough reformation ; 
and such a reformation he immediately at- 
tempted. He obliged those persons, who had 
connected themselves in marriage with the 
people of the land, to put away their strange 
wives, and conform in this respect to the law 
of Moses. He took much pains to instruct 
the people in the law, multiplying copies of it, 
and causing it to be read and expounded on 
great public occasions. By degrees he brought 
the Jewish church into a state, in which it re- 
mained to the time of the Saviour. 

\Nov was this the only important work which 
he accomplished. Being an inspired man, 
and one thoroughly instructed in the Script- 
ures, he was led to collect and revise, and 



68 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

give to the church a correct edition of those 
holy records ; or of such of them as were in 
existence when he lived. In other words, with 
the exception of some fragments, and a very 
few of the later books, he settled the canon of 
the Old Testament Scriptures ; and so settled 
it, that it received the sanction of our Saviour 
and his Apostles, and has been accepted by 
Jews and Christians in all later times. This 
was the great w r ork of Ezra's life. For this 
he will be remembered, in gratitude and honor, 
so long as the Bible is read, or the world en- 
dures. 

It has been questioned whether it was Ezra, 
or some later teacher, who introduced the 
worship of the synagogue into the church of 
Israel. It is very certain that there were no 
synagogues in the land, previous to his time, 
and that they were in use shortly after his 
death. It would seem also that they must 
have been of Divine institution, or they would 
not have been frequented and sanctioned by 
our Saviour. Neither can it be doubted that 
they were of great advantage to the Israel- 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 69 



ites, tending, as they necessarily must have 
done, to multiply copies of the sacred writ 
ings, and to promote a better understanding of 
them among the people. Previous to the es- 
tablishment of synagogues, the people, having 
no religious worship but that of the temple, 
and being comparatively ignorant of the law, 
were perpetually running into idolatry. The 
gods of the nations round about them were a 
constant snare to them. But after the intro- 
duction of synagogues, in which the law was 
read and explained, they were as much averse 
to idolatry, as they had before been addicted 
to it. And so it has been with the Jews ever 
since. They have fallen into other sins, but 
with the worship of idols they have not been 
chargeable. 

But the question returns as to the origin of 
the synagogues. The Scriptures do not ac- 
quaint us with their origin. But w T e know 
that Ezra was in the habit of reading and ex- 
pounding the law to the people ; and the prob- 
ability is, that the synagogues grew up from 
the influence of his example, if they were not 



70 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

established by his direct authority. If the 
synagogue was a Divine institution, it must 
have originated with some inspired man ; and 
who so likelv to have introduced it as Ezra ? 

Some have supposed that the Hebrew vow- 
el points were introduced by Ezra, and that 
they are of equal authority with the sacred 
text. But the arguments against this supposi- 
tion seem to me conclusive. 1. In the first 
place, the copies of the Old Testament, made 
use of by the Jews in their synagogues, have 
ever been, and still are, without the points. 
2. The more ancient various readings of the 
sacred text have respect all of them to the let- 
ters, and not to the points ; thus showing that 
the points are not of a high antiquity. 8. 
The same conclusion we draw from another 
fact, viz., that the ancient Cabbalists derive 
none of their mysteries from the points, but 
all of them from the letters. 4. If we compare 
the more ancient versions of the Old Testa- 
ment, as the Septuagint, and the Chaldee par- 
aphrases, with our pointed Hebrew Bibles, we 
find that they do not always agree : showing 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 71 

that the authors of those versions did not read 
the text according to the present punctuation. 
5. In neither of the Taloauds is any mention 
made of the vowel points ; as there certainly 
would have been, had they been in existence, 
and of authority, when the Talmuds were 
written. 

It is no part of my present purpose to give 
a history, or to detract from the importance, 
of the Hebrew vowel points. That they are 
of essential service in learning and using the 
Hebrew 7 language, both Jew and Gentile now 
agree. But that they originated with Ezra, 
or with any other inspired man, or that any 
Divine authority is to be attached to them, 
cannot I think be maintained. They proba- 
bly originated with the Masorites, or Jewish 
critics, long after the canon of the Old Testa- 
ment was closed. 

I have said that the practice of reading and 
expounding the law commenced with Ezra. 
This led to the setting apart of an order 
of men for this purpose. Their expositions, 
accompanied often with traditionary legends, 



72 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

soon came to have authority, and an antiquity 
was ascribed to them, to which they had no 
claim. In short we have now arrived at the 
period, when the oral, traditionary law began 
to appear ; and with many it was regarded as 
of equal authority with the w r ritten law. As 
years rolled on, the traditions were multiplied 
and increased, till in the time of our Saviour, 
the written law was quite obscured and nulli- 
fied by them. Hence we hear our Lord com- 
plaining of the Pharisees and Scribes, that 
they a had made the commandment of God 
of none effect, by their traditions." (Mat. 
15: 6.) 

At length the traditions became so numer- 
ous, that they could no longer be handed down 
orally, as before. They were committed to 
writing, and constitute the substance of the 
Jewish Talmuds. The Talmuds consist of two 
parts, the Mishna and the Gemara. The 
Mishna is made up of the old traditions ; the 
Gemara, of the comments of the Rabbins 
on these traditions. It is supposed that the 
Talmuds began to be written about two hun- 



L'XDER THE MEDO-PERSIAXS. 73 

clred years subsequent to the time of our Sav- 
iour. 

That Ezra was an eminently wise and good 
man, I have before remarked, and his works 
declare. His administration was one of great 
value, not only to the Jews at Jerusalem, but 
to the whole church of God. Few men have 
ever lived, to whom the church is more in- 
debted, than to this venerable scribe of the 
law. Still, he seems to have been more a 
priest, than a ruler ; more a scholar and 
teacher, than an efficient magistrate. After 
his utmost endeavors to reform abuses, and to 
carry forward the work of the Lord, irregu- 
larities and abuses crept in unawares, and the 
enclosing and fortifying of the city was not ac- 
complished. This is evident from the misera- 
ble account of things which was brought to 
JSTehemiah, then in Persia, and which led to 
his appointment as the successor of Ezra, in 
the government. 

Nehemiah was a Jew, whose ancestors had 
formerly lived at Jerusalem ; but his geneal- 
ogy is not given. He was now an inhabitant 



74 



THE AXCIEXT CHURCH 



of Shushan, the royal city of Persia ; was a 
Am of indomitable energy and profound wis- 
dom ; was the possessor of great wealth ; and 
held an important office, near the king. While 
in this station of honor and influence, he 
learned from certain Jews who had come from 
Jerusalem, that his brethren there were in 
great affliction and reproach ; that the walls of 
the city were broken down ; that its gates 
were burned with fire ; and that though the 
temple had been rebuilt and its worship re- 
stored, the city remained comparatively des- 
olate. 

Y\~hen Xehemiah heard these things, he 
"sat down and wept, and mourned, and fasted 
certain days, and prayed before the God of 
heaven. 5 ' He resolved, at the same time, 
that he would apply to the king for permission 
and authority to repair to Jerusalem, and set 
up its gates, and build its broken walls. Ac- 
cordingly, he sought an opportunity, when it 
came his turn to wait upon the king, and when 
queen Esther was sitting beside him, to pre- 
sent a petition to this effect, which was readily 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 75 



and liberally granted. A royal decree was 
issued for rebuilding the walls and gates of 
Jerusalem, and Neherniah was sent thither, 
as governor of Judea, to put it in execution. 
And to do him the greater honor, the king 
sent a guard of horse with him, to conduct 
him in safety to his Province. He also wrote 
letters to all the governors beyond the Eu- 
phrates, to aid him in his work, and to the 
keeper of his forests to allow him as much 
timber out of them as he should need. Thus 
commissioned and furnished, Neherniah went 
up to Jerusalem, took upon him the adminis- 
tration of affairs, and immediately commenced 
the great work for which he had come. All 
this took place in the twentieth year of the 
reign of Artaxerxes, and from this time the 
administration of Ezra closed. 

No sooner had the Jews, under their new 
governor, commenced repairing the gates and 
walls of their city, than they were assailed by 
their old adversaries, the Samaritans, and 
other surrounding nations. Prominent among 
these were Sanballat the Horonite, Tobias the 



76 THE AXCIEXT CHURCH 

Ammonite, and Gesliem the Arabian, who gave 
them all the disturbance in their power. They 
assailed the Jews, not only with derision and 
reproach, with treachery and deceit, but by 
threats otforee violence ; so that while a 
part of the people labored on the wall, another 
part were under arms for their defence ; and 
all had their arms at hand, to repel an assault, 
if one should be made. In consequence of 
the excellent arrangements of the governor, 
and the diligence and perseverance of the peo- 
ple, the wall of Jerusalem was repaired in less 
than two months, the gates were set up, and a 
public dedication was celebrated, with great 
solemnity, by all the Jews. 

Having thus accomplished the first great 
object of his mission, Nehemiah next set him- 
self to ease the people of their burthens, and 
to accomplish other necessary reforms ; in all 
which he was essentially aided by the counsel 
and cooperation of Ezra. Previous to this 
time, the rich among the Jews had been in 
the habit of exacting usury of their poorer 
brethren, and oppressing them in other ways ; 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIAXS. 77 

so that many had been constrained to alienate 
their possessions, and even to sell their chil- 
dren into servitude, to procure bread for the 
support of themselves and families. Upon 
hearing these things, Nehemiah resolved to 
correct the evil at once ; and so, having called 
the people together, he showed them how 
grossly they had violated the law of God, and 
how much their oppressions tended to provoke 
his wrath. Whereupon it was resolved by the 
whole assembly, not only that these odious ex- 
actions should cease, but that full restitution 
should be made to the poor, of all that had 
been taken from them. 

The next thing projected by Nehemiah was 
to increase the population of J erusalem, and 
fill it up with houses and inhabitants ; for while 
it was unfortified, without walls and gates, few 
had been inclined to take up their abode there. 
In furtherance of this object, he first prevailed 
upon the rulers, the elders, and the great men 
of the nation, to build themselves houses within 
the city ; and then others, influenced by their 
example, voluntarily offered to do the same. 



78 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

And of the rest of the people, every tenth 
man was taken by lot, and obliged to eonie and 
settle in Jerusalem. In this way the city was 
soon filled with inhabitants, and recovered 
something of its ancient magnificence. Her- 
odotus, speaking of it shortly after this time,* 
compares it with Sardis, the capital of lesser 
Asia. 

In carrying out his plans as to the settle- 
ment of the country, Nehemiah found it nec- 
essary to inquire very carefully into the gen- 
ealogies ; that he might know from what tribes 
and families individuals were descended, and 
to what portions of the country they were to 
be assigned. With characteristic energy this 
matter was carried through, and the result is 
recorded in the seventh chapter of Nehemiah. 

It was about this time (under the direction 
of the governor) that Ezra engaged — more 
publicly and formally than ever before — in the 
reading and exposition of the law. The occa- 
sion selected was one of the great festivals, 
which occurred in the seventh month, when 



* Under tliennme of Cadytis. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 79 

all the people were assembled at Jerusalem. 
The reading was continued by Ezra and his 
assistants, from day to day, until the whole 
was read and expounded to the people. In 
the language of the sacred historian, " they 
read in the book of the law distinctly, and 
gave the sense, and caused them to understand 
the reading." (Neh. 8: 8.) 

Nor was this effort of the excellent governor 
and the venerable priest without good results. 
The people were greatly affected in view of 
their transgressions, a day of fasting was ob- 
served, a public confession of sins were made, 
and reformation was promised. A solemn cov- 
enant was entered into by the whole congre- 
gation, that they would abstain from those 
particular sins into which they had more scan- 
dalously fallen, and that they would observe 
the law of God in time to come. From this 
period, as I have before remarked, the public 
reading and expounding of the law was more 
frequently practiced, not only on the great 
festivals at Jerusalem, but in the cities and 
villages of Judea ; and public buildings, or 



80 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



synagogues, were ere long erected, for ttie 
accommodation of the people on these occa- 
sions. 

When Nehemiah had been twelve years 
governor of Judea, he was under a necessity 
of returning to the Persian court. Indeed, 
he left his place at court, in the first instance, 
under a promise to return. He was absent 
from Jerusalem on this service about five 
years, when he was sent back, with a new 
commission from the king. And by this time, 
his return was greatly needed. Since, during 
his absence, some flagrant abuses and corrup- 
tions had been tolerated. In particular, he 
found that his old enemy, Tobiah the Ammon- 
ite, had allied himself in marriage to the 
family of the high-priest ; and for his special 
accommodation, the high-priest had assigned 
to him one of the chambers in the house of the 
Lord. But Nehemiah was not long in remov- 
ing this evil. He cast forth, at once, " all 
the house-hold stuff of Tobiah out of the 
chamber," and commanded it to be cleansed, 
and restored to its former use. 



UNDEPy THE MED0-PERSIAN3. 81 

Nehemiah also found that, during his ab- 
sence, the portions of the singers and Levites 
had not been given them ; so that they had 
been constrained to forsake their appropriate 
employments about the temple, and seek a 
support by the labors of the field. This evil 
also was soon corrected. Xehemiah got the 
rulers together, and chided them, saying : 
" V\ T hy is the house of God forsaken ? " Un- 
der his vigorous administration, the Levites 
were quickly restored to their places, and the 
tithes of corn, and wine, and oil, were duly 
rendered. 

The next abuse with which Nehemiah grap- 
pled, was the violation of the Sabbath. There 
w T ere those among the Jews who trode their 
wine presses on the Sabbath, and brought 
sheaves and all manner of burthens into Jeru- 
salem. Also the Tyrian merchants brought 
fish, and all kinds of ware, and sold them in 
Jerusalem on that holy day. For these things 
Nehemiah strongly reproved the rulers and 
nobles of the city 9 saying : " Did not your 
fathers thus ? And did not our God bring all 



82 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

this evil upon us, and upon this city ? Yet ye 
bring more wrath upon Israel, by profaning 
the Sabbath." (NebJ 13 : 18.) From this 
time, Neherniah commanded that the gates of 
Jerusalem should be shut, the evening before 
the Sabbath, and that no secular business 
should be performed, either •within the city, 
or without the walls. 

At the same time, Nehemiah discovered 
that many of the Jews, and some even of the 
priests, had corrupted themselves by inter- 
marriages with the Philistines, the Moabites, 
and Ammonites. With his characteristic en- 
ergy, he attacked this evil also, and had the 
happiness to see it speedily removed. Those 
who had taken strange wives were obliged 
either to put them away, or themselves to be 
separated from the congregation of the Lord. 

In the latter of these classes was Manasseh, 
one of the sons of the high priest. He had 
married a daughter of the notorious Sanbah 
lat, governor of Samaria, and refused to put 
his wife away. Wherefore, says Nehemiah, 
" I chased him from me." Manasseh fled to 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 83 



Samaria, carrying with him a copy of the 
book of the law, and persuaded Sanballat to 
build a temple for him on mount Gerizirn, 
after the same pattern with that at Jerusa- 
lem. We have here the origin of the Samari- 
tan Pentateuch, and of the worship on mount 
Gerizim, which continued until after the com- 
ing of Christ. We have also one of the causes 
of that inveterate hatred of the Samaritans, 
which continued so long among the Jews. 

It was during the prevalence of those cor- 
ruptions which had crept in at Jerusalem, 
during the absence of Nehemiah, that Mal- 
achi, the last of the Hebrew prophets, made 
his appearance. He does not, like Haggai 
and Zechariah, reprove the people for neglect- 
ing to restore the fallen temple, but for neg- 
lecting what appertained to the true worship 
of God in it. In short, the corruptions which 
he charges upon the Jews were the same 
which Nehemiah undertook to correct on his 
return ; which leads to the conclusion that 
Malachi must have lived and prophesied in 
these days. 



84 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

How long after this Nehemiah lived, or 
when he died, we are not informed. The 
reformation which he so effectually accom- 
plished, after his return from Persia, is the 
last of his history of which we have any knowl- 
edge. He outlived his great prince and pa- 
tron, Artaxerxes, and was retained in office 
by Darius No thus, his son. I need not here 
enter on a minute delineation of his character. 
This is best known from his public acts. That 
he was a man of great firmness, decision and 
energy, as well as goodness, — " a terror to 
evil doers, and a praise to them that did 
well " — is very obvious. That he had a quick 
insight into human character, and much expe- 
rience and wisdom in the direction of public 
affairs, is equally obvious. In short, he was 
in some sense a model magistrate, raised up 
and qualified for the particular service to which 
he was called, and to whom his nation were 
under the highest obligations. I ought to 
say a word, before closing, of his liberality 
and public spirit. During the whole time 
that he was in office, he sustained the honors 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIAXS. 85 

of it with a princely magnificence, and all at 
his own personal expense. There was pro- 
vided for his table daily, as he himself tells us, 
" one ox, six choice sheep, together with 
fowls and wine ; J? jet for all this he would 
receive no salary or support from the people, be- 
cause their burthens were heavy upon them. 
(Neh. 5 : 18.) 

Artaxerxes Longimanus, or, as he is styled 
in the book of Esther, Ahasuerus. reigned over 
the whole Persian empire forty-one years. His 
administration, in general, was peaceful and 
prosperous, and eminently favorable to the 
Jeivs. He reconquered the Egyptians, who 
had revolted from him, and held them in subjec- 
tion to the end of his reign. He succeeded 
early in concluding a peace with the Greeks, 
which added much to his own security and 
tranquillity. During the latter part of his 
reign, the Peloponessian war was raging in 
Greece, which furnished sufficient employment 
for that restless and turbulent people, without 
turning; their arms against the Persians. It was 
at this time, that Socrates commenced his phi- 

8 



86 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



losophical career at Athens, and that Plato, 
his most distinguished disciple and follower, 
was born. 

Artaxerxes was succeeded — after some petty 
domestic struggles — by his son Darius Nothus ; 
of whose reign, so far as the church of God 
is concerned in it, I shall give some account in 
the following chapter. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 87 



CHAPTER IV. 

The Medo-Persian Empire, till its overthrow. 
The Grecian, to the time of Ptolemy Phil- 
adelphia. 

My last chapter was entirely occupied with the 
state of affairs among the Jews, during the 
long reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus. It 
was under him that Jerusalem was rebuilt, 
and that Ezra and Nehemiah were success- 
ively appointed to be governors of Judea. 
With the closing chapter of the book of Ne- 
hemiah, the sacred history of the Old Testa- 
ment closes. Nehemiah was at this time an 
aged man, and the probability is, that he died 
soon after at Jerusalem. 

After him, there seem not to have been 
any more governors in Judea. This country 
was annexed to the province of Coelo-Syria, 
and was subject to its prefect, who resided at 



88 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Damascus. The chief ruler at Jerusalem, in 
civil affairs as well as ecclesiastical, was the 
high-priest. 

During the government of Nehemiah, Elia- 
shib was high-priest. He was- a grandson of 
Jeshua, who came with the first company of 
exiles from Babylon. He was succeeded in 
office by his son Joiada. It may be feared 
that neither of these men had any strict re- 
gard for the religion of their fathers ; since 
the former was allied in marriage to Tobiah, 
the Ammonite, and prepared for him a cham- 
ber in the house of the Lord ; and the latter 
was similarly connected with Sanballat the 
Horonite, as stated in the last chapter. 

Darius Nothus was now on the throne of 
the Persian empire. He succeeded in quell- 
ing revolts and rebellions, and in keeping his 
vast empire together. By aiding the Lacede- 
monians, he enabled them to overcome the 
Athenians, and thus to put an end to the Pe- 
loponessian war. But this only left the Lace- 
demonians at liberty to invade the Persian 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 89 

provinces in -Asia, whereby great injury ac- 
crued both to the king and his successors. 

Darius died, after a reign of nineteen years, 
and was succeeded bv his son, Artaxerxes 
Mnenion. Mnemon had a younger brother, 
whose name was Cyrus, who governed the 
provinces of lesser Asia. Cyrus raised a 
great army, composed in part of Greeks, and 
advanced into Persia for the purpose of driving 
his brother from the throne. They came to a 
battle on the plains of Cunaxa, near Babylon, 
where Cyrus was slain. The Greeks who 
accompanied him, under the direction of Xen- 
ophon, effected a retreat of more than two 
thousand miles, — the longest and most re- 
markable, that was ever made through an 
enemy's country. This expedition and retreat 
are the subject of Xenophon's Anabasis. The 
Cyropedia of Xenophon relates to the elder 
Cyrus. — that great monarch of Persia by 
whom Babylon was overthrown. 

The reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon was long, 
and on the whole prosperous. He is repre- 
sented as a mild and generous prince, who 

8* 



90 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

ruled with clemency and justice, and whose 
name was revered and honored throughout the 
empire. He had long and bloody contests 
with the Greeks, more especially the Lacede- 
monians, who harassed and plundered the 
provinces of lesser Asia. When these were 
quelled, he undertook the subjugation of 
Egypt, which had been for some time in a 
state of revolt, but he did not live to see this 
object accomplished. 

In the thirty-fourth year of Artaxerxes 
Mnemon, Joiada, the high priest at Jerusalem 
died, and was succeeded by Jonathan his son. 
This Jonathan was a man of blood ; for when 
one of his brothers aspired to the high priest's 
office, and undertook to drive him from it, he 
fell upon him and slew him, in the inner court 
of the temple. By this murderous act, Jona- 
than greatly incensed the government of 
Syria and Palestine, who, in punishment of it, 
imposed a fine upon the temple. He con- 
demned the priests to pay him for every lamb 
they offered in sacrifice, a tribute of fifty 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 91 



drachms, which is about eight dollars of our 
money. 

Artaxerxes died at the age of ninety-four 
years ; forty-six of "which he reigned over the 
Persian empire. He was succeeded by his 
cruel and wicked son Artaxerxes Ochus. He 
made his way to the throne by blood, and when 
he had secured it, he slew most of the members 
of the royal family, without regard to age, sex, 
or kindred. There were disturbances in the pro- 
vinces, at the commencement of this King's 
reign, but by the energy of his government, 
these were, ere long, subdued, when he bent all 
his force for the reduction of Egypt. For this 
purpose, he put himself at the head of his army, 
and marched in person into Syria and Phe- 
nicia. He inflicted a terrible destruction on 
the city of Sidon, and because he suspected 
the Jews of favoring the Sidonians, he had a 
quarrel with them. He sent an army into 
Judea, besieged and took Jericho, and made 
many of the Jews captives. A part of these he 
took with him into Egypt, and a part he 
sent away into Hyrcania, and planted them 



92 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

on the shores of the Caspian sea. He soon 
effected the subjugation of Egypt, and drove 
their King into exile in Ethiopia. This King 
(Nectanebus by name) was the last native 
Egyptian that ever reigned on the throne of 
Egypt. From that time to the present, Egypt 
has been governed by strangers according to 
the prophecy of Ezekiel : "It shall be the 
basest of Kingdoms, neither shall it exalt 
itself any more above the nations ; for I will 
diminish them, that they shall rule over the 
nations no more." (Ezek. 29 : 15.) 

After the reduction of Egypt and the other 
revolted provinces, Ochus gave himself up to 
his pleasures, spending his whole time in indo- 
lence and luxury. He died after he had 
reigned twenty-one years, having been poisoned 
by Bagoas, his favorite eunuch. 

In the third year of Ochus, Alexander the 
great was born, he who was destined so soon 
to effect the overthrow of Persia. In the 
eleventh y ear of his reign, Plato, the celebrated 
Athenian philosopher, died. Seven years later, 
died Jonathan, the high priest at Jerusalem. 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIAXS. 93 

He was succeeded by Jaddua, his son, who is 
the last of the high priests whose names occur 
in the Old Testament. (See Xeh. 12 : 11.) 

After the death of Ochus, Bagoas, his mur- 
derer, placed Arses, his youngest son upon the 
throne. But being offended Tvith him, he 
slew him, when he had reigned only two 
years. The wretch now gave the throne to 
Darius Codomannus, a descendant of Darius 
ISothus, but not a son of the late king. Not 
finding him so obsequious as he desired, 
Bagoas undertook to remove him, too, by 
poison ; but Darius, being advised of the fact, 
compelled him to drink the potion himself. In 
this way, he destroyed the traitor, and became 
thoroughly settled in the kingdom. Darius is 
represented as of an imposing stature, of great 
personal bravery, and of a mild and generous 
disposition. In ordinary times, he might have 
reigned as long and as happily as any of his 
predecessors ; but having the genius of Alex- 
ander to contend with, he was not able to 
stand against it. 

Shortly after his father's death, Alexander, 



94 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



being now about twenty-one years of age, was 
appointed generalissimo of all the Greeks; 
and each of the Grecian cities agreed to 
furnish its quota of men and money for 
carrying on a war against the Persians. Thus 
furnished, this brave young man crossed the 
Hellespont into Asia, in the second year of 
the reign of Darius. His army at this time 
consisted of only 30,000 men ; nor had he the 
means of supporting them for more than thirty 
days. Still, he was not discouraged. He 
trusted to his good fortune, and to the provi- 
dence of God, and providence favored him in 
a most remarkable manner. In a few days, 
he gained a complete victory over a Persian 
army, five times as great as his own, at the 
river Granicus, which put him in possession of 
a vast amount of treasure and of all the prov- 
inces of lesser Asia. The year following, he 
came to the still more decisive battle of Issus, 
in which he defeated an army of 600,000 
Persians, and left 100,000 dead upon the 
field. Darius himself hardly escaped, while his 
camp, his baggage, his mother, his wife, his 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 95 

children, all fell into the enemy's hands. In 
consequence of this victory, Damascus, with 
its immense wealth, came into possession of the 
conqueror, and with it the entire province of 
Syria. 

Alexander now bent his course southward, 
in the direction of Phenicia and Egypt. Most 
of the cities submitted to him without a strug- 
gle ; but the siege and' the conquest of Tyre 
cost him a great effort, and many lives, and 
what, perhaps, was still more vexatious, it 
retarded him for months in his career of blood. 

This object being accomplished, the con- 
queror next turned his steps towards Jerusa- 
lem. The Jews, unwilling to forfeit the 
friendship of the Persians, had refused to 
grant him supplies, during the siege of Tyre ; 
and now he was intending to punish them for 
their disobedience. But God interposed in a 
most remarkable manner for their deliverance. 
In a vision of the night, he directed Jaddua, 
the high priest, not to fight with Alexander, 
but to go out to him, in his pontifical robes, 
with the priests following him in their proper 



96 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



attire, and all the people in white garments. 
Accordingly, Jaddua prepared to do as he 
was directed. The next day, he went out of 
the city, attended by the priests and people in 
a long and sacred procession, and waited in 
the most solemn manner the coming of the 
king. As soon as Alexander saw him, he 
was struck with a profound astonishment and 
awe. He leaped from his chariot, and rush- 
ing forward, bowed down before the high 
priest, and did him reverence, to the great 
surprise of his generals, and of. all who at- 
tended him. And when he was inquired of as 
to the reason of what he had done, he said, 
that he did not so much honor the priest, as 
that Divine Being whose priest he was. For, 
says he, " When I was at Dio in Macedonia, 
and was there deliberating with myself how I 
should carry on this war against the Persians, 
and was much in doubt as to the issue of the 
undertaking, this very person, and in this 
very habit, appeared to me in a dream, and 
encouraged me to lay aside all distrust about 
the matter, and pass boldly over into Asia, 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 97 

promising me that God would be my guide in 
the expedition, and give me the empire of the 
Persians. "Wherefore, seeing this sacred 
personage, and knowing him to be the same 
that appeared to me in my own country, I 
feel assured that this present war is under the 
direction of the Almighty, and that he will 
conduct it to a happy issue." Having thus 
said, Alexander kindly embraced the high 
priest, went with him into Jerusalem, and 
offered sacrifices in the temple.* It was on 
this occasion, that Jaddua read to him those 
portions of the book of Daniel, in which it was 
predicted that the Persian empire should be 
overthrown by a Grecian king. By these, 
Alexander was still farther assured that he 
should succeed in his conflict with Persia ; 
and at his departure, he encouraged the Jews 
to ask any favor of him which they desired. 
Whereupon they requested that they might 

* I give this story as related by Josephus, Antiq. Book 
XL Chap. 8. I know not why its truth should be called in 
question ; and if true, here was, certainly, a very remarka- 
ble interposition of Providence in behalf of the church. 



98 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

enjoy the freedom of their country, their laws, 
and religion, and be exempted every seventh 
year, from paying tribute ; because in that 
year, according to their law, they neither 
sowed nor reaped. This request Alexander 
very readily granted, and treated them ever 
afterwards with distinguished favor. 

The Samaritans, seeing how kindly the Jews 
had been treated, immediately preferred a 
request to the king that he would honor their 
city and temple with his presence, and exempt 
them also from paying tribute every seventh 
year. Alexander did not absolutely deny 
them, but deferred the consideration of their 
case until his return from Egypt. At this, 
the Samaritans were much incensed, and to 
show their resentment, they rose against one 
of the friends of Alexander, whom he had 
made governor of Syria and Palestine, set fire 
to his house, and burned him to death. When 
Alexander returned, he took exemplary ven- 
geance upon these murderers, and upon the 
Samaritans generally. Some he put to death ; 
some he exiled into Egypt ; and the remainder 



UNDER THE MEDO-PERSIANS. 99 

he drove from Samaria to Shechem, where 
they builded a city, and where their descend- 
ants still reside. Their former city he settled 
with Macedonians ; their territory he gave to 
the Jews. 

Alexander's expedition into Egypt was one 
of mingled glory and shame. He had no 
difficulty in the subjugation of Egypt. In- 
deed, it could hardly be called a subjugation. 
So tired were the Egyptians of Persian rule, 
that they submitted to him of their own ac- 
cord, and even ran to him as to a deliverer. 
In establishing his authority over Egypt, he 
hardly needed to strike a blow. 

But Alexander was not satisfied with the 
possession of Egypt. He must be deified and 
worshiped there. So he projected a journey 
from Memphis to the temple of Ammon, situ- 
ated in the desert, two hundred and fifty miles 
off, and bribed the priests to declare him a 
son of the god. This notion of being a sort of 
demi-god, like Bacchus and Hercules, seems 
to have possessed him ever after, and was in 
fact the occasion of his ruin. It was this 



100 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

which led him, like Hercules, foolishly to 
invade India, and more foolishly to drink him- 
self to death, in imitation of Bacchus. 

On his way to the temple of Ammon, Alex- 
ander observed a place, over against the island 
of Pharos, on the sea coast, which he thought 
a favorable situation for a new city ; and there 
he caused to be built Alexandria. He named 
it for himself, and made it the future capital of 
Egypt. For long ages, Alexandria was not 
only the grand depot of European commerce, 
but the principal seat of learning in the world. 
At present, it is a poor place, remarkable, 
chiefly, for the ruins of what it once was. 

When Alexander had Settled the govern- 
ment of Egypt, and disposed of all things 
according to his will, he set out for the East, 
in pursuit of Darius. The two armies, with 
their leaders, came together beyond the Ti- 
gris, not far from the site of ancient Nineveh. 
The Persians numbered not less than a million, 
while the whole force of Alexander did not 
exceed fifty thousand. Yet he had no hesita- 
tion in hazarding battle, and that too on an 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. 101 

open plain, which gave great advantage to the 
Persians. The fortune of the day was soon 
decided ; Darius was routed and defeated, 
and the whole Persian empire, to the utmost 
extent in which it was possessed by Cyrus, or 
by any of his successors, fell into the hands of 
Alexander. And herein was accomplished 
what had long before been predicted by Daniel : 
" A he-goat came from the West, on the face 
of the whole earth, and touched not the 
ground ; and the goat had a notable horn 
between his eyes. And he came to the ram 
that had two horns, which I had seen standing 
before the river, and ran unto him in the fury 
of his power, and smote the ram, and brake 
his two horns, and there was no power in the 
ram to stand before him, but he cast him down 
to the ground, and stamped upon him, and 
there was none that could deliver the ram out 
of his hand." (Dan. 8 : 5—7). 

Having lost the battle, Darius fled into 
Media, and afterwards into Bactria, endeavor- 
ing in vain to raise another army ; but his 
own followers, becoming weary at length of 

9* 



102 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

his fallen fortunes, took his life. Alexander 
shed many tears over his dead body ; wrapped 
it in his own cloak, and sent it to Shushan, to 
be buried among the kings of Persia. The 
expenses of the funeral he bore himself ; nor 
did he cease to pursue the traitors who mur- 
dered Darius, until they were destroyed. 

I have no occasion to speak farther of the 
rapid marches and flying conquests of Alexan- 
der in the East. He soon made himself 
master of all those wild and mountainous 
regions lying North and East of Persia ; pen- 
etrated far into India, and returned by a 
circuitous route to Babylon. He seemed rather 
to fly than to march, and wherever he came, 
the terrified nations bowed down before him, 
and owned him as their lord. So remarkably 
did he answer, in this respect, to Daniel's 
prophetic symbols of him ; — a he-goat coming 
from the West, and not touching the ground ; 
a leopard, having on its back the wings of a 
fowl, with which to fly and take the prey" 
(Dan. 7: 5; 8: 5.) 

While Alexander lay at Babylon, he was 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. 103 

constantly projecting great designs for the 
future. One of his plans was, to prepare a 
fleet, with which to circumnavigate the African 
continent, and return into Greece by the pillars 
of Hercules. Another was, to rebuild the 
ruined tower of Belus, and the city of Baby- 
lon, and restore both to more than their 
ancient splendor. At the same time, he was 
intent upon his pleasures, which he carried to 
the most ruinous excess. He often spent 
whole days and nights in drunkenness and 
debauchery, drinking quarts, and (if the ac- 
counts are to be credited), gallons at a sitting ; 
by which means he brought on a fever which 
in a few days put an end to his life. He 
feared not to meet the East in arms ; but its 
vices and luxuries destroyed him. His death 
occurred in the year before Christ 323, when 
he had reigned only twelve years and a half. 

His success in war. during this period, was 
beyond all example. He was often extrava- 
gant in his plans, and rash almost to madness 
in their execution ; yet none of them failed. 
He seems to have been raised up in providence 



104 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



to chastise and destroy the guilty nations, and 
most remarkably did he fulfill his destiny. He 
subjected all to his sway, from the Adriatic 
sea to the Ganges, and from the unknown 
regions of the North to the Indian ocean. 

After the death of Alexander, there was 
great confusion among his followers about the 
succession. At length the government was 
settled upon his idiot brother, and his infant 
son. But these reigned only in name, and for 
a little while. The government, (what of 
government there was), was really in the 
hands of Alexander's great military leaders ; 
and these were constantly quarreling and 
fighting among; themselves. During these 
commotions, which lasted more than twenty 
years, the Jews were variously and often 
painfully affected. In the fourth year after 
the decease of Alexander, Jaddua their high 
priest died, and was succeeded in office by 
Onias his son. The same year, Jerusalem 
was besieged by Ptolemy Soter, who had been 
constituted governor of Egypt. The place 
was strongly fortified, and might have held 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. 105 

out for a long time ; but Ptolemy, knowing 
the strictness with which the Jews observed 
their Sabbath, made choice of this day in 
which to attack them, and to storm their city. 
Having got possession of Jerusalem, he was at 
first inclined to treat the inhabitants with 
rigor. He broke clown their walls, and 
removed not less than a hundred thousand of 
them to the new city of Alexandria in Egypt. 
Hence, the multitude of Jews which are known 
to have dwelt at Alexandria, down to the 
times of our Saviour and his Apostles. In a 
little time, the heart of Ptolemy began to 
relent. He came to think better of the Jews, 
restored to them their privileges, and treated 
them with distinguished favor. He was not 
permitted,' however, to retain permanent pos- 
session of their country. It fell, after a time, 
under the power of Antigonus, another of 
Alexander's generals; on which occasion, 
many of the Jews voluntarily left the land of 
their fathers, and went into Egypt. At length 
Ptolemy succeeded in recovering the provinces 



108 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

of Syria and Palestine, and in attaching them 
permanently to his dominions. 

After a long period of confusion and blood- 
shed, the empire of Alexander was finally 
divided into four parts, and four of his more 
distinguished followers assumed the title of 
Kings, and reigned over them. Ptolemy had 
Egypt, Arabia, Coelo-Syria, and Palestine ; 
Cassander had Macedon and Greece ; Lysima- 
chus had Thrace, Bythinia, and some other 
provinces in Northwestern Asia ; and Seleucus 
had all the rest. And herein was fulfilled, 
again, several of Daniel's most remarkable pre- 
dictions. When " the he-goat had waxed very 
great, and was strong, the notable horn between 
his eyes was broken, and for it came up /our 
notable horns toward the four winds of heaven." 
This rough goat, we are expressly told, de- 
notes " the King of Grecia ; and the great horn 
between his eves the first King. Now that 
being broken, four Kingdoms shall stand up 
out of the nation, but not in his power." (Dan. 
8: 8, 21, 22.) We have the same events more 
literally predicted in another place. "A 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. 107 

mighty King shall stand up, that shall rule 
"with great dominion, and do according to his 
will. And when he shall stand up, his King- 
dom shall be broken, and shall be divided 
towards the four winds of heaven ; but not to 
Ms posterity nor according to the dominion 
with which he ruled." (Dan. 11 : 3, 4.) It 
is remarkable that not one of those, who 
divided among themselves the empire of Alex- 
ander, was of his posterity or kindred. They 
were all of them of other blood. So literally, 
wonderfully have these predictions of Daniel 
been fulfilled. 

It was just at this time that Onias, the high 
priest of the Jews, died and was succeeded in 
office by his son Simon, who on account of his 
excellent character, and his eminent abilities 
and holiness, is called Simon the Just. His 
praises are devoutly sung by the Son of Sirach. 
He is said to have fortified Jerusalem and the 
temple, and to have discharged all the duties 
of his high office in the most becoming and 
acceptable manner. (Ecc. chap. 50.) There 
are some parts of the Old Testament — some 



108 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



fragments of it, at least — which could not have 
been inserted by Ezra. They relate to events 
which took place after his death.* The Jews 
have a tradition (which is very probable) that 
these parts were inserted by Siraon ihe Just. 
If so ? to him belongs the honor of putting the 
last finishing touch to the canon of the Old 
Testament. He continued in office only nine 
years, when he died, and was succeeded by 
his brother Eleazer. 

Of the territories assigned to the four Kings 
above mentioned, those of Seleucus .were much 
the largest, extending from India to the Med- 
iterranean sea. He built many cities, the 
principal of which were Antioch, situated on 
the Orontes, in upper Syria, about twenty 
miles from the Mediterranean; and Seleucia, on 
the Tigris, near the site of the modern Bag- 
dad. Antioch soon became, and long con- 
tinued, the most distinguished city of Western 
Asia. It was here that the Syrian Kings had 

=^The genealogies of Zerubbabel, and of Jeshiia, are carried 
down to the times of Alexander the great. See 1 Chron. 3: 
19—24, Neh. 12: 10, 22. 



/ 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. 109 

their seat of empire ; here the Roman govern- 
nors afterwards resided ; here the followers of 
J esus were first called Christians ; and here for 
many centuries, was the see of the chief Patri- 
arch of the Asian churches. 

Upon the building of Seleucia, ancient Baby- 
lon became almost entirely deserted. The 
inhabitants flocked to the new city, which was 
sometimes called New Babylon. Indeed, 
from this time, whenever Babylon is spoken of 
as an inhabited city, whether in sacred or 
secular history, New Babylon, and not the 
Old, is intended. 

Seleucus was a firm friend and patron of 
the Jew T S. He admitted them into all his 
cities, and granted them equal privileges with 
the Greeks and Macedonians. It was through 
his influence, that so many of the Jews settled 
in Antioch, and in the other cities of Western 
Asia. 

The Jews had always been numerous in the 
East, from the time of the captivity. Not- 
withstanding all the encouragement given 
them by the Persian kings, not half of them 

in 



110 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

ever returned into Palestine. They were of 
great service to Seleucus in his wars, and he 
bestowed upon them all the privileges which 
they could reasonably desire. 

The Jews of Palestine were now under the 
government of Ptolemy, king of Egypt ; and 
he was equally favorable to them in his domin- 
ions, as Seleucus was in his. They had 
special privileges granted them at Alexandria, 
and constituted an important part of the popu- 
lation of that great city. 

In the year 283 before Christ, Ptolemy 
Soter died, at the advanced age of eighty- 
four ; having governed Egypt, from the death 
of Alexander, forty years. He was the wisest 
and best of all the Ptolemies, and left an 
example of prudence, justice, and clemency, 
which none of his successors cared to follow. 
Before his death, he had admitted his son, 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, to be a partner of his 
throne, and thereby established the succession. 

The famous Alexandrian library was com- 
menced by Ptolemy Soter. It was greatly in- 
creased by Ptolemy Philadelphus, and those who 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. Ill 

came after him, until it numbered at length, 
700,000 volumes. A part of this library 
was destroyed in the time of Julius Caesar. 
The other part was burned by the command 
of the caliph Omar, A. D. 642. His reply to 
his general, who inquired of him what should 
be done with the books, was as follows : "If 
their contents agree with the Koran, we have 
no need of them. If they disagree, we cannot 
endure them. Therefore, let them be burned." 
So those inestimable treasures of ancient 
learning and wisdom were distributed for fuel 
to the public baths, and sufficed to heat all 
the baths of the city for the space of six 
months. 

It was during the reign of Ptolemy Phila- 
delphus, that the Greek version of the Old 
Testament, commonly called the Septuagint, 
was commenced at Alexandria. The ancient 
Jewish legends respecting this version, — such 
as that Ptolemy sent to Jerusalem for a copy 
of the sacred writings, and for six learned 
scribes from each of the twelves tribes of 
Israel (making seventy-two in all) to translate 



112 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

them ; that these were secluded in distinct cells 
on the isle of Pharos, till each had prepared a 
separate version ; that on comparing these ver- 
sions, they were found to agree word for word 
with each other ; — these and other like stories, 
which were copied from the Jews by the early 
Christian Fathers, and on account of which the 
version has ever since been cdilledtheSej^tuagint, 
— are deservedly rejected by the learned of the 
present day. This version, evidently, was not all 
made at once. The Pentateuch may have been 
translated, for the use of the synagogues, as 
early as the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. It 
w 7 as then much needed, because the Hebrew 
language was no longer understood, at least 
by the common people. The rest of the Old 
Testament seems not to have been translated, 
until the times of Antiochus Epiphanes, when 
the Jews were forbidden to read the law in 
their synagogues, and commenced reading the 
other Scriptures. 

It is moreover certain that this translation 
was not all made by the same hand. The 
differences in the style and character of the 



UNDER THE GRECIAN MONARCHY. 113 



translations — the accuracy with which some 
of the books are translated, and the careless- 
ness and inaccuracy which appear in others, 
are full proof of this. 

On the whole, there can be no reasonable 
doubt, that a translation of the Old Testament 
into Greek was commenced at Alexandria, as 
early as the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus, 
and that, in a course of years, it was com- 
pleted. There can be no doubt that this 
version was used in the synagogues of Alex- 
andria, where, as I said, it was now needed, 
and that a copy of it was deposited in the 
king's great library. There is no doubt that 
this version came into general use among the 
Jews wherever the Greek language was 
spoken ; that it was used in Palestine in the 
days of our Saviour, and was frequently 
quoted by him and the Apostles. As to the 
origin of this celebrated version, it was pro- 
bably made by learned Alexandrian Jews in 
Egypt, and from some one of the copies which 
were there. Why should the king send to 

Jerusalem for a copy, when there were, 

10* 



114 THE ANCIENT CHUKCH 



doubtless, fifty copies in Alexandria ? Or why 
should he send to Jerusalem for translators, 
when the scribes at Alexandria were much 
better qualified for the work, than any he 
could get from the holy land ? The Greek 
tongue was vernacular at Alexandria ; where- 
as it had scarcely begun to be spoken, at this 
time, in Jerusalem. There were other trans- 
lations of the Old Testament into Greek, as 
those of Aquila, of Theodotion, and Symma- 
chus ; but these were made at a later period, 
and were never regarded as of equal authority 
and sacredness with the Septuagint. 



i 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 115 



CHAPTER V. 

The kings of Syria and Egypt. The Per- 
secutions and Oppressions of Antioehus 
Epiplianes. 

In my last I spoke of Alexander's empire as 
divided among four of his great generals, who 
governed the different parts of it as kings. 
The last of these which survived was Seleucus. 
He reigned over all the East, and was intent 
on extending his empire into the West. 
While on his way to take possession of Mace- 
don, he was treacherously murdered by one of 
his followers. He was succeeded in the gov- 
ernment by his son Antioehus, commonly 
called Antioehus Soter. 

Ptolemy Philadelphus was still the sovereign 
of Palestine and Egypt. In the year 274 
before Christ, he sent an embassy to the Ro- 
mans, and the Romans, the next year, sent 



116 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



ambassadors to him. This is the first mention 
we have of the Romans, as concerning them- 
selves with the affairs of the East. 

Ptolemy, that he might advance the riches 
of his kingdom, contrived to divert the trade 
of the East from its accustomed channels, and 
to bring nearly the whole of it to Alexandria. 
Eor this purpose, he established a port, and 
built a city, on the Western shore of the Red 
Sea, almost down to the straits of Babelman- 
del, from which he constructed a road across 
the desert to the Nile. He built houses of 
entertainment on the way, and furnished them 
with water, by a channel from the river. In 
this way, the commerce of the East, which in 
all previous ages had gone through Tyre, was 
now brought directly to the Nile, down which 
it floated to the great city of Alexandria. 
And in this channel, the trade between Asia 
and Europe continued to flow, for the next 
seventeen hundred years, — until a better 
route was discovered by the cape of Good 
Hope. 

We have now arrived at the age of the 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 117 

Mishnical Doctors (so called from their love 
of tradition) among the Jews. The first of 
these was Antigonus Socho, who was president 
of the Sanhedrim and teacher of the law at 
Jerusalem. Among his scholars was a Jew, 
by the name of Sadoc. Having heard his 
master often insist that the God of Israel 
should not be served from mere selfish mo- 
tives, such as the love of reward and the fear 
of punishment, Sadoc came at last to believe 
that there are no rewards or punishments 
beyond the grave, or in other words, that 
there is no future life. He had many fol- 
lowers who, deriving their name from him, 
were called Sadclucees. They differed from 
the other Jews, not only in respect to the 
doctrine of immortality, but in discarding all 
tradition, and receiving only the five books 
of Moses. This semi-infidel sect, I hardly 
need say, was in existence, and flourishing in 
the times of our Saviour.* 



* I have given what seems to me the most probable 
account of the name and origin of the Sadducees. Some 
suppose them to have originated at a later period. 



118 



In the year 261 before Christ, Antiochus 
Soter died, and was succeeded by his son, 
Antiochus Theos. To this king Berosus, the 
famous Babylonish historian, dedicates his his- 
tory. He was a priest of Belus, and lived at 
Babylon in the days of Alexander. He after- 
wards resided at Cos, and at Athens, where 
he wrote his historv in the Greek language. 
The entire work is not extant, but we have 
fragments of it in Josephus and Eusebius, 
which shed light on many passages of the Old 
Testament. At the same time lived also 
Manetho, the historian of Egypt. He too 
had been a priest in his own country. His 
history, of which only some extracts remain, 
was written in Greek, and dedicated to Ptol- 
emy Philadelphus. 

Between Antiochus Theos and Ptolemy Phil- 
adelphus there were long and bloody Avars. 
While the former was engaged in contending 
with the latter, his Eastern provinces — nearly 
all beyond the Tigris — revolted from him, and 
set up an independent government. Thus a 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 119 

foundation was laid for what was afterwards 
the Parthian empire. 

Antiochus and Ptolenry died within a year 
of each other. The former was succeeded by 
his son Seleucus Callinicus, and .the latter by 
his son Ptolemy Euergetes. These two princes, 
like their fathers, were almost continually en- 
gaged in war, in which Ptolemy had greatly 
the advantage of his rival. He carried the 
war far into the East, and might have entirely 
overthrown the empire of Seleucus, had he not 
been summoned home to suppress a revolt in 
Egypt. On his return from this expedition, 
he brought back a vast amount of treasure, and 
with it no less than two thousand five hundred 
Egyptian idols, which in former times had 
been carried away. All these he restored to 
the temples in Egypt ; on which account he 
received the name Euergetes, that is Bene- 
factor, from the priests. It is said also that, 
on his return, he visited Jerusalem, and offered 
sacrifices to the God of Israel, in token of his 
gratitude for the victories he had gained over 
the king of Syria. 



120 THE ANCIENT . CHURCH 

Seleucus Callinicus was one of the most un- 
fortunate of the Syrian kings. He was con- 
stantly at war, and almost as constantly de- 
feated. The very elements seemed often to 
conspire against him. While his empire was 
gradually diminishing in the West, the new 
Parthian kingdom was becoming strong in the 
East. — too strong to be subverted either bv him 
or his successors. In his wars with the Partis- 
ans, he was at length taken prisoner, and died 
in captivity among them. 

Meanwhile, Ptolemy Euergetes was enjoy- 
ing peace and prosperity in Egypt. Like his 
father and grandfather, he was the patron and 
promoter of learning. He gathered around 
him learned men, and was making continual 
additions to the royal library of Alexandria. 
In the twenty-first year of his reign, he had a 
quarrel with the high priest at Jerusalem, 
growing out of the failure of the latter to pay 
the customary tribute. 

I have said already, that the successor of 
Simon the Just in the high priest's office was 
his brother Eleazer. To him succeeded Ma- 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 121 



nasseh, a son of Jaddua, and cousin of Simon 
the Just. The successor of Manasseh, who 
was now in office, was Onias II., a son of Si- 
mon the Just. But he seems to have been 
the very opposite of his father, in those good 
qualities which his office required. He was 
of a sluggish temper, and of a mean, sordid, 
avaricious spirit. As he advanced in years, 
his covetousness increased upon him, till at 
length he withheld the twenty talents, which 
was required to be paid, annually, to the king 
of Egypt. Upon this, Ptolemy sent an officer 
to Jerusalem to demand the money, threaten- 
ing, in case of refusal, to invade Judea with 
an army, and dispossess the Jews of their 
country. In this emergency they w ? ere deliv- 
ered through the prudence, the energy, and 
perseverance of a young kinsman of the high 
priest, whose name was Joseph, He collected 
the tribute which had been kept back, hast- 
ened with it into Egypt, made a satisfactory 
apology to the king, and was received into 
favor with him, as he deserved. 

I have before stated, that the unfortunate 
11 



122 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Seleucus Callinicus died a prisoner among the 
Parthians. He was succeeded by his eldest 
son Seleucus, who took the name of Ceraunns, 
or the Thunderer. But never was such a 
title less deserved. He was a very weak 
prince, both in mind, in body, and estate, and 
accomplished nothing worthy of notice. In- 
deed, he reigned only two years, when two of 
his generals conspired against him, and cut 
him off, He was succeeded by his younger 
brother, Antiochus, known in history as Antio- 
chus the Great. 

The following year, (before Christ 221) 
Ptolemy Euergetes died, after a prosperous 
reign of twenty-five years. He w 7 as suc- 
ceeded by his profligate and wicked son, Ptol- 
emy Philopator. He murdered his mother 
and brother, and afterwards his wife and sister. 
His reign was characterized throughout by 
acts of barbarity, brutality, and wickedness. 
There were long wars between him and Anti- 
ochus, in which the territory of the Jews, lying 
as it did between the two, suffered repeatedly 
and severely. In the year 218 before Christ, 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 123 

the provinces of Coelo-Syria and Palestine fell 
into the hands of Antiochus. But the next 
year, Antiochus having been defeated at the 
battle of Raphia, these provinces reverted to 
Egypt. It was at this time, that Ptolemy 
Philopator came to Jerusalem. He took a 
view of the temple, gave gifts to the priests, 
and offered sacrifices to the God of Israel. 
After this, he insisted upon going into the 
temple — even into the holy of holies, where 
no one could lawfully enter except the high 
priest, and he only once in a year. The high- 
priest at this time was Simon, son of Onias II., 
and grandson of Simon the Just. He did 
what he could to dissuade the king ; but the 
more he was opposed, the more obstinate he 
became, until he had pressed into the inner 
court of the temple. But on his attempting 
to proceed further, he was suddenly smitten with 
such a tremor, with- such terror and confusion 
of mind, that he fainted, and was carried out 
of the place in a state of insensibility. Upon 
this, he hasted away from Jerusalem, filled 



124 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

with wrath, and uttering the most terrible 
threats against the whole nation of the Jews. 

On his return to Alexandria, he immedi- 
ately commenced putting his threats in execu- 
tion. He first degraded the Jews of Alex- 
andria ; and deprived them (or such of them- 
as would not renounce their religion) of the 
privileges which, from the first founding of the 
city, they had enjoyed. He next commanded, 
that all the Jews in Egypt should be brought 
by force to Alexandria, and shut up in the 
Hippodrome, intending there to expose them, 
for his own amusement and that of his court, 
to be destroyed by elephants. But when the 
elephants were brought forth — having been 
maddened for two days to prepare them for 
the fray — instead of falling upon the defence- 
less Jews, they turned their rage upon the 
spectators, and destroyed many of them. The 
king now was thoroughly frightened. He 
dared not carry out his threats any farther. 
He revoked his decrees against the Jews, re- 
stored them to their privileges, and bestowed 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 125 

upon them distinguished favors. (3 Macca- 
bees, chap. 2 — 5.) 

Three years after this, the people of Alex- 
andria, being tired of their oppressions, and 
disgusted with the abominable government un- 
der which they lived, rose in arms against it. 
In this rebellion the J ews of Alexandria took 
part, and Eusebius informs us that no less 
than forty thousand of them were slain. 

Ptolemy Philopator reigned, in all, seven- 
teen years. He had naturally a robust consti- 
tution, which was thoroughly worn out by his 
intemperance and debaucheries, and he died 
at the early age of thirty-seven. So true is 
ifc, that " the wicked are driven away in their 
wickedness," and that " bloody and deceitful 
men do not live out half their days." 

His successor was Ptolemy Epiphanes, a 
little son only five years old. But before 
speaking of the events of his reign, it is nec- 
essary that we turn back, and give some ac- 
count of Antiochus the great. He found the 
Syrian empire in a state of great weakness 
and confusion, curtailed on every side, and 



126 TH£] ANCIENT CHURCH 

apparently tottering to its fall. But by the 
energy of his government and the success of 
his arms, he was enabled to restore it almost 
to its former strength. He first established 
his authority in the East, and (with the ex- 
ception of Parthia, Bactria, and some of the 
provinces of India) recovered all that had 
been held by his predecessors. He then passed 
into Western Asia, and reduced most of the 
revolted provinces there. He was unfortunate 
in his first attempt upon Palestine and Egypt, 
but these never had belonged to the empire of 
his fathers. 

In the year 195 before Christ, the great 
Carthaginian warrior Hannibal, — having been 
beaten in the second Punic war, and being 
under the necessity of leaving Carthage, — 
threw himself upon the hospitality, and im- 
plored the protection and friendship of Anti- 
ochus. It was through his influence, chiefly, 
that Antiochus was induced to attempt the 
conquest of Greece, and to engage in war 
with the Romans. This war, though under- 
taken by the advice of Hannibal, was not 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 127 

prosecuted according to his wise suggestions. 
It proved most disastrous to Antiochus. In his 
encounters with the Romans, whether by sea 
or land, he was always beaten. They drove 
him out of Europe, followed him into Asia, 
dispossessed him of all the lesser Asia, and 
obliged him, on settling a treaty, to bear all 
the expenses of the war. He lived but a little 
while after this. In endeavoring to raise 
money with which to fulfill his treaty with the 
Romans, he became so sacrilegious and op- 
pressive, that his subjects rose in arms against 
him and slew him. He is represented as pos- 
sessing, according to the standard of the age 
in which he lived, an amiable character. He 
was mild, humane, beneficent, just, and until 
his last unhappy war, was almost uniformly 
prospered in his undertakings. He died in 
the year 187 before Christ, and left his throne 
to Seleucus Philopator, his eldest son. 

"We return now to the affairs of Egypt. I 
have said that Ptolemy Epiphanes was left 
heir to the throne, when only five years of 
age. As he had neither father nor mother, 



128 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

and his dominions were menaced on every side, 
the court of Egypt sent an embassy to the 
Romans, praying them to accept the guardian- 
ship of their king, and the regency of the 
empire, during his minority. The Romans 
readily consented to the proposal, and took on 
them the charge of the young king. Antio- 
chus had even before this marched an army 
into Coelo-Syria and Palestine, and taken pos- 
session the second time, of those provinces ; 
but now an army of Greeks was sent thither, 
to recover the lost provinces to Egypt. The 
next year Antiochus took possession of them 
again ; so that in the space of a very few 
years, Jerusalem changed masters no less than 
four times. In these revolutions, the city and 
country suffered severely ; for with every 
change, there must be a repetition of carnage 
and plunder. 

At this time, the Jews seem to have become 
tired of the yoke of Egypt. They preferred 
the rule of the monarch of Syria. He had 
been less oppressive in his government over 
them. He had treated their brethren in the 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 129 

East with distinguished favor. So that when 
* Antiochus came to take possession of their coun- 
try for the third time, they went out in long 
procession to meet him, and received him with 
gladness into the city. From this time, the 
provinces of Coelo-Syria and Palestine con- 
tinued in the hands of Antiochus, until the 
marriage of his daughter to Ptolemy Epipha- 
nes, when they were voluntarily given back to 
Egypt? as part of the dowry of the young 
princess. This transfer took place in the 
twelfth year of the reign of Ptolemy, and in 
the year before Christ 193. 

It was in the eighteenth year of Ptolemy 
that Antiochus died. He was succeeded, as I 
said before, by Seleucus Philopator, his eldest 
son. He was obliged, by the treaty which his 
father had concluded with the Romans, to pay 
them one thousand talents a year, for twelve 
years. This obligation embarrassed him, and 
led him to deal more hardly by his people 
than he would otherwise have done. He is 
fitly characterized in the predictions of Daniel, 
as " a raiser of taxes." (Dan. 12 : 20.) 



130 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

In the early part of his reign, he succeeded, 
(but by what means is not known) in getting * 
possession of Coelo- Syria and Palestine, which 
provinces his father had given back to Egypt. 
Under his government, the Jews were treated, 
for the most part, with equity and kindness. It 
is recorded to his honor, by the writer of the 
second book of the Maccabees, that the " holy 
city was inhabited with all peace, and the laws 
were kept very well, because of the godliness 
of the high priest, Onias III., and his ha- 
tred of wickedness ; while " Seleucus himself, 
out of his own revenues, bare ail the cost 
belonging to the service of the sacrifices." 
(chap. 8 : 1 — 3.) But there w r as at this time 
one Simon, the governor of the temple at Je- 
rusalem, who had a quarrel with good Onias, 
and who, to injure him, made report to the 
king that there was an immense treasure laid 
up within its walls. Seleucus, being poor, and 
the Roman tribute pressing heavily upon him, 
could not resist the temptation of seizing this 
wealth ; and he dispatched his general in 
chief, Heliodorus, to carry it away. He came 
to Jerusalem, introduced his unwelcome mes- 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS, 131 

Bftee, and notwithstanding the remonstrances 
of the high priest, insisted on plundering the 
temple. But in the midst of his sacrilege, he 
was met, repulsed, and stunned by a most ter- 
rific apparition. He was carried stupefied 
and senseless from the temple, and was only 
recovered in answer to the high priest's sup- 
plications. (See 2 Mac. 3 : 21 — 36.) Sot 
long after this, Seleucus was murdered by this 
same Heliodorus. when he had reigned only 
twelve vears. He was succeeded bv his 
brother, Antiochus Epiphanes, in the year be- 
fore Christ 175. 

Ptolemy Epiphanes reigned over Egypt 
twenty-four years. So long as he was under 
tutors and governors, the affairs of the king- 
dom were managed with discretion. But when 
he had come to an ase to take the govern- 
ment upon himself, he plunged into all the 
evil and disgraceful courses of his father. He 
seems to have been even a greater tyrant than 
his father, — so much so that his subjects twice 
rose upon him, and in the second instance, put 
an end to his life. He died at the age of 



182 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

twenty-nine, leaving his wife Cleopatra, the 
daughter of Antiochus the great, and a son 
and successor (Ptolemy Philometor) only six 
years old. 

Antiochus Epiphanes was one of the vilest 
characters, and most cruel persecutors, that 
ever sat upon a throne. He was no sooner 
established in his kingdom, than he deposed 
the good high priest Onias, and sold the office, 
for three hundred and sixty talents, to his un- 
principled brother Jason. Nor did this satisfy 
him long ; for only two years after, he sold 
the same office to Menelaus, a younger and 
still more wicked brother, for three hundred 
talents more. In order to pay the debt thus 
contracted, Menelaus was under the necessity 
of plundering the temple ; and this caused a 
tumult at Jerusalem, which could not be 
quieted without blood. 

A quarrel commenced early between Anti- 
ochus and his nephew, the young king of 
Egypt, respecting the provinces of Coelo-Syria 
and Palestine. These properly belonged to 
Ptolemy, though they were now in possession 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 133 

of Antiochus. Foreseeing that the Egyptians 
were intending to claim them, Antiochus com- 
menced a war upon Ptolemy, in which he 
gained several battles, and made himself mas- 
ter of nearly all Egypt, except Alexandria. 
Indeed, either by force or bv flattery, be ob- 
tained possession of the young king's person, 
and had him with him at his table, and in his 
camp. 

While these things were transacting in 
Egypt, a report came to Jerusalem that Anti- 
ochus was dead, which caused great rejoicings 
among the Jews. At the same time, Jason, 
the deposed high priest, came to Jerusalem 
with an army, that he might crush Menelaus, 
and regain his office. Antiochus, hearing of 
these things in Egypt, and being greatly 
offended that the rumor of his death should 
have caused so much exultation among the 
Jews, resolved to wreak his vengeance upon 
them. His victorious army was soon before 
Jerusalem, the city was taken, and was given 
up to pillage and slaughter. Within three 
days, forty thousand of its inhabitants were 

19 



134 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

slain, and as many more were sold into slavery. 
Not content with this, Antiochus (under the 
guidance of the traitorous high priest, Mene- 
laus) forced himself into the recesses of the 
temple, polluting with his presence even the 
holy of holies. And that he might offer the 
grossest insult, not only to the people but to 
the God of Israel, he sacrificed a sow on the 
altar of burnt offering, and making broth of a 
portion of its flesh, sprinkled with it the holy 
place. He next proceeded to plunder the 
temple of its golden vessels to the value of 
eighteen hundred talents, and made off with 
his booty and his army to Antioch, 

The Alexandrians, finding that Ptolemy Phi- 
lometor was not likely to protect them against 
the intrusions of Antiochus, took a younger bro- 
ther of his (known in history as Ptolemy Phys- 
con) and placed him on the throne. When Antio- 
chus heard of this, he resolved upon a second 
expedition into Egypt, professedly to restore 
Philometor, but really to subject the whole 
kingdom to himself. When the Egyptians 
heard of his intentions, they sent, at once, an 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 135 

embassy to the Romans, praying them to inter- 
pose, to stay the ravages of Antiochus, and 
restore peace to their distracted country. The 
Romans gladly availed themselves of the op- 
portunity to extend their influence and power, 
and their ambassadors (at the head of whom 
was Caius Popilius) arrived in Egypt, just as 
Antiochus was commencing, for the last time, 
to lay siege to Alexandria. Seeing Popilius 
coming, Antiochus, (who had known him at 
Rome) put forth his hand to embrace him, as 
an old acquaintance and friend. But Popilius 
withdrew his hand, telling him that public in- 
terests must take the precedence of private 
friendships. He immediately handed him the 
decree of the Senate, requiring him to stay 
all further proceedings against Egypt, and 
withdraw his army from the country. Antio- 
chus hesitated, and asked time for considera- 
tion. But Popilius replied, that the decision 
must be made upon the spot ; and then draw- 
ing a circle around him in the sand, forbade 
him to step out of it, until he had settled the 
question one way or the other. The proud 



136 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

spirit of Aritiochus was compelled to yield. 
He dared not risk a quarrel with the Romans. 
He promised to raise the siege of Alexandria, 
and to withdraw his forces out of Egypt. 

But he went away in great wrath, and be- 
cause he could not punish the Egyptians, he 
determined to vent his spite upon Jerusalem. 
Accordingly, as he passed on with his army 
through Palestine to Antioch, he sent Appol- 
lonius, one of his generals, to invest, capture, 
and destroy that devoted city. 

It was just two years after the taking of the 
city by Antiochus, that Appollonius arrived 
before it with his army. He concealed his 
purpose a few days, until the Sabbath, when, 
falling upon the unsuspecting and defenceless 
people, he slew all the men he could find, and 
took the women and children to sell them into 
slavery. After this, he plundered the city, set 
fire to it in several places, demolished the 
houses, brake down the walls, and with the 
ruins which had accumulated built a strong 
tower, high enough to overlook and command 
the temple. Here he placed a garrison, and 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 137 

furnished it with abundant provisions, that the 
soldiers might guard the temple, and cut off 
all who came there to worship. From this 
time the temple was entirely deserted, the 
daily sacrifices were omitted ; and none went 
into it to pay their devotions, for the space of 
three years and a half. 

, Nor was this all the evil which now befell 
the miserable Jews. Upon his return to his 
capital, Antiochus published what may be 
called, in modern phrase, an act of uniformity. 
He commanded all people throughout his do- 
minions, to renounce their former rites and 
usages, and conform to the religion of the 
king. And that his decree might be faithfully 
executed, he sent deputies into all the towns 
$nd villages of the empire to see to the obser- 
vance of it, and to instruct the people in the 
new religion to which they were required to 
conform. This decree, to be sure, was couched 
in general terms, but then it was known to be 
designed more especially for the Jews. The 
king's intention was, either to convert them to 
his religion, or to cut them all off. 



138 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

The deputy who was sent for this purpose 
into Judea, was resolved to execute it thor- 
oughly. He suppressed all Jewish festivals 
and observances, forbade the practice of cir- 
cumcision, searched out and destroyed the 
books of the law, and having denied the tem- 
ple in every part, consecrated it to Jupiter 
Olympus. He set up an image of Jupiter 
in the inner court of the temple, and built 
an altar before it, on which many sacrifices 
were offered. 

A portion of the Jews, and all the Samari- 
tans, at this time apostatized from their relig- 
ion. For it was the custom of the Samari- 
tans, when the Jews were in prosperity, to 
claim connection and favor with them ; but 
when the J ews were persecuted, they w T ould 
disclaim all such connection, hoping in this 
way to escape. There were those among the 
Jews however, and they were not few — in the 
deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of 
the earth — who would not bow the knee to 
Baal. Such were two pious mothers at Jeru- 
salem, who, having lately circumcised each of 



UNDER SYRIAN AND EGYPTIAN KINGS. 139 

them her infant, were condemned to be thrown 
from the top of the wall, with their murdered 
children hanging about their necks. Such 
was Salamona, a noble Jewish mother, who, 
with her seven sons, underwent a most terri- 
ble death, rather than forsake the God of 
Israel. (See 2 Mac. chap. 6 : 7.) 

It was just at this awful crisis, when the 
people of God and the true religion seemed 
likely to be swallowed up together, that the 
standard of revolt was raised by Matthias and 
his valiant sons, and the hour of Judah's 
deliverance came. But this brings me to the 
history of the Maccabees, of which I shall 
speak in the following chapter. 



140 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



CHAPTEK VI. 

Death of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Macca- 
bees. Fulfillment of Daniel, chap. XI. 

In the last chapter, we brought clown the his- 
tory of the Jews to the time of their deepest 
depression and persecution under Antiochus 
Epiphanes, when their city was deserted, their 
temple profaned, the holy rites of their relig- 
ion prohibited, and many of the pious in 
Israel had been persecuted unto death. As 
the deputies of Antiochus " passed through 
all quarters,'' searching out the scattered 
people, and compelling them to do sacrifice to 
their gods, they found at Modin a venerable 
priest, named Matthias, a descendant of As- 
mona^us, from whom the family are sometimes 
called Asmongeans. Matthias had seven sons, 
all valiant men, who, like him, were zealous 
for the law of their God. The deputy at 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 141 

Modin undertook, first of all, to persuade 
Matthias to lay aside his scruples, and con 
form to the religion of the king ; urging the 
influence of his example upon others. But 
Matthias declared with a loud voice, that no 
consideration whatever should induce him, or 
any of his family, to act contrary to the law of 
their God ; and seeing, at that instant, a 
recreant Jew presenting himself before the 
heathen altar, and preparing to offer sacrifice 
upon it, he ran upon him, and in the heat of 
his zeal slew him. He next fell upon the 
king's deputy, and by the help of his sons 
slew him, and all who attended him. 

The sword of revolt was now fairly drawn, 
and the scabbard thrown away. Matthias and 
his sons retired into the mountains, where 
they were soon followed by many others. 
Observing that their enemies had generally 
taken advantage of the Sabbath to attack and 
destroy them, this noble band of fugitives 
agreed among themselves, that while thev 
would endeavor to keep the Sabbath according 
to the commandment, they would have no 



142 THE AXCIEXT CHURCH 

scruple, if assaulted, in defending themselves 
on that holv day. 

Having got together enough followers to 
constitute a little army, Matthias and his sons 
came out of their fastnesses, and went round 
the cities of Judah, pulling down heathen 
altars, circumcising the children, and destroy- 
ing apostates and persecutors, wherever they 
could be found. And having found copies of 
the law, they set up the worship of the syna- 
gogue, as it was before. But Matthias being 
very ased. and unable to endure this kind of 
life, expired before the end of the year. As 
he lay dying, he called his sons around him, 
and having appointed Judas to be their cap- 
tain, and Simon their chief counselor, he 
adjured them to stand up valiantly for the 
law of their God, and to fight his battles 
against their persecutors. Thus saying, he 
gave up the ghost, and was buried in the 
sepulchre of his fathers, amid the lamenta- 
tions of the faithful in Israel. 

As soon as the funeral solemnities were 
over, Judas, with his little army, took the 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 143 

field. Upon his standard was written this 
inspiriting motto : Mi Camoka Baelim Jeho- 
vah, " Who is like unto thee among the gods, 
Jehovah?" (Ex. 15: 11.) The first letters 
of these four Hebrew words, Mem, Caph, 
Beth, Yod, being conjoined into one word, 
make Macabi. Hence, those who fought under 
this sacred standard were called Maccabees ; 
and Judas, their captain, was called by way of 
eminence Judas Maccabeus. 

Antiochus was at this time celebrating 
games at Antioch, after the manner of the 
Greeks and Romans ; but Judas was playing 
another sort of game in Palestine. He was 
marching from place to place, encouraging and 
delivering the faithful people of God, cutting 
off idolaters and apostates, and destroying (so 
far as possible) every vestige of the new 
religion. And not only so, he was fortifying 
the towns, establishing garrisons, and making 
himself strong and powerful in the land. Ap- 
ollonius, the king's lieutenant, hearing of his 
successes, marched against him with a great 
army ; but Judas vanquished him and his 



144 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

forces in battle, and took much spoil. He 
took, among other things, the sword of Apol- 
lonius, which he himself carried ever after- 
wards. Another of Antiochus' generals then 
took the field against Judas, followed by a 
still more numerous army ; but they met the 
same fate as the first. Judas fell upon them, 
slew great multitudes, and scattered the rem- 
nant to the winds. 

When Antiochus heard of these disasters in 
Palestine, he was excited to the intensest in- 
dignation. He immediately set about collect- 
ing a vast army, with which to destroy the 
whole nation of the Jews, and blot out the re- 
membrance of them from the earth. But in 
the language of the prophet, M tidings from the 
North and from the East troubled him." In 
the North, the king of Armenia had revolted ; 
and in the East, his tribute could not be col- 
lected, so that funds for the support of his 
army were wanting. In this emergency, the 
king concluded to divide his army into two 
parts. With the one part, he would go in 
person into Armenia and Persia ; while the 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 145 

other part, under Lysias, his chief captain, 
was to defeat and exterminate the Jews. 

Lysias was not slow in entering upon his 
bloody commission. Urged on by the king's 
commandment, he set forward an army of 
forty thousand foot and seven thousand horse, 
under the direction of Nicanor, one of his 
lieutenants, intending himself soon to follow, 
if it should be found necessary. These all 
encamped at Emmaus, near Jerusalem, at- 
tended by thousands of Syrian and Phenician 
merchants, who had come together for the pur- 
chase of captives, which they supposed would 
of course, be taken in the war. 

Judas, although he could not muster more 
than six thousand men, was resolved to take 
the field, and fight till he died, in the service 
of God and' his country. But first of all, he 
assembled his forces at Mizpah, and kept a 
day of solemn festing and prayer, imploring 
direction and strength from heaven. Then he 
made proclamation, according to the law, that 
all those who that vear had built houses, or 
betrothed wives, or planted vineyards, or 



146 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



were dismayed and fearful, might depart. In 
consequence of this, his army of six thousand 
was reduced to three thousand. Still, this 
noble hearted man was not at all discouraged. 
He divided his little company into four parts, 
under the direction of his brothers and him- 
self, and solemnly waited the movements of 
the enemy, and the providential direction and 
interposition of God. In these circumstances, 
he learned that a detachment of the enemy, 
under Gorgias, had left their camp in the 
night, and were marching round secretly to 
attack him in his rear. Whereupon he made 
immediately for the deserted camp, took it, 
plundered it, and set it on fire. The rest of 
the Syrian army, under Nicanor, seeing the 
camp of Gorgias on fire, and supposing that 
his forces had been captured and destroyed, 
fled at once in great terror, leaving their tents 
also to be taken by the Jews. By this time 
Gorgias, having sought in vain for Judas, was 
marching back to his own place ; but finding 
his camp destroyed, and the rest of the Syrian 
army fled, he fled also in great amazement, 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 147 

declaring that it was vain to fight against the 
God of Israel. The result of the expedition 
was, that Judas and his company took the 
whole Syrian camp, with a vast amount of 
spoil and treasure, slew nine thousand of the 
enemy on the field, dispersed the rest, and sold 
most of the merchants into captivity to the 
Jews, who had assembled there to make cap- 
tives of them. The following Sabbath was 
kept by the Jews with great rejoicing, giving 
praise and thanksgiving to God for their won- 
derful deliverance. 

Greatly strengthened by this victory, and 
resolved to make the most of it in his power, 
Judas immediately led his forces across the 
Jordan, to attack another of Antiochus' gen- 
erals who was stationed there. Here he gained 
another battle, and left twenty thousand of the 
enemy dead upon the field. 

By this time Lysias, who had not yet tried 
his fortune in Judea, was thoroughly aroused. 
As speedily as possible, he mustered an army 
of sixty thousand foot and five thousand horse, 
and putting himself at the head of it, marched 



148 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

into the land of Israel. He pitched his camp 
at Bethsura, a fortified town lying south of 
Jerusalem, near the borders of Idumea. Here 
Judas met him, with only ten thousand men, 
vanquished him in battle, slew five thousand 
of his soldiers, and put the rest to flight. 

Being now fairly master of the country, 
Judas proposed to his followers that they 
should go up to Jerusalem, purify the temple, 
and consecrate it anew to the service of the 
Lord. On coming to the holy city, they 
found every thing as they expected, in a most 
lamentable condition. The walls were thrown 
down, the sanctuary desolate, the altar pro- 
faned, the gates of the temple consumed, the 
priests' chambers demolished, and the courts 
about the temple grown over with weeds and 
shrubs. But Judas and his company though 
they could not refrain their tears, were not 
men to be discouraged. They immediately set 
about repairing the desolations, and cleansing 
the sanctuary. They pulled clown the heathen 
altars, removed and destroyed the idols, re- 
placed the sacred vessels which Antiochus had 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 149 

carried away, rebuilded the altar of the Lord, 
and hung up a new vail between the holy and 
most holy place. And when every thing had 
been set in order, they appointed a day on 
which the temple and its furniture should be 
consecrated anew. The dedication took place 
on the 25th day of the ninth Jewish month, 
Cisleu, about the time of the winter solstice, 
just three years and a half after the city and 
temple had been profaned and desolated by 
Apollonius. The solemnity continued for 
eight successive days, and an annual festival 
in commemoration of it was long observed 
among the Jews. It was the feast of the dedi- 
cation which, on one occasion at least, our 
Saviour honored with his presence. (John 10: 
22.) It was the only one of the great annual 
festivals which occurred in the winter. 

When the Jews had recovered and purified 
the temple, and instituted anew the public 
worship of God, there was but another thing 
which they had occasion to desire ; and this 
was the destruction of the tower which Apollo- 
nius had built and garrisoned with soldiers, to 

13* 



150 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



prevent the people from going up to the tem- 
ple to worship. This was still in the hands of 
the enemy; nor was Judas able, either by 
siege or assault, to bring them to surrender. 
Wherefore he built walls and towers round 
about the temple, and placed soldiers in them, 
that they might defend the holy places, and 
protect the priests and pious worshipers. 

During all this time Antiochus was in the 
East, endeavoring to collect his tribute, and 
to enrich himself from the plunder of temples, 
and the oppression of his people. When he 
heard of the exploits of Judas, and of the de- 
feat of his armies in Palestine, he was terribly 
enraged. The furnace of his wrath was 
kindled seven-fold hotter than ever before. 
He set out with the utmost speed on his re- 
turn, threatening as he hurried on, that he 
would make Jerusalem a sepulchre for the 
whole Jewish nation, and bury them to a man. 
But while thus " breathing out threatenings 
and slaughter," the judgments of insulted 
heaven overtook him. He was suddenly 
smitten with an incurable disease of the 

♦ 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 151 

bowels, and with the most tormenting anguish, 
which no remedies could remove or abate. 
Still, he would not stop in his career, but com- 
manded his charioteer to drive on, that he 
might the sooner be in a situation to wreak 
his vengeance on the Jews. In a little time, 
his chariot was overset, and he was so sorely 
injured, and so terribly diseased, that he was 
constrained to stop. And here he became, 
both to himself and to all around him, a monu- 
ment of the avenging judgment of God. His 
sufferings, both of body and mind, were beyond 
all expression. His lower extremities became 
putrid and rotten, filled with loathsome ver- 
min, and emitting a stench unendurable, not 
only to others, but to himself. At the same 
time, his imagination was haunted with horrid 
spectres and apparitions, which w T ere continu- 
ally reproaching him, and stirring up - his 
conscience to the keenest remorse. He was 
brought, at length, to confess, that the hand 
of an offended God was upon him for what he 
had done against his holy temple at Jerusalem, 
and against the lives of his faithful servants. 



152 THE ANCBENT CHURCH 

He deeply lamented his cruel persecutions, 
and promised, should his life be spared, to do 
what he could to make reparation. But his 
repentance came too late. God would not 
hear him, And so, after languishing a while 
in these unutterable torments, he went to his 
account in the other world, having reigned 
over the Syrian empire eleven years. 

Our history, from the death of Alexander 
the Great, has been chieflv confined to Svria 
and Egypt ; because the other two kingdoms 
into which Alexander's empire was divided, 
became early (to a great extent) merged in 
these ; and because with these were connected, 
more or less, the destinies and interests of 
God's covenant people. The Jews, during all 
this period, though considerably dispersed 
over the ancient world, had their residence, 
chiefly, in three or four places ; such as Baby- 
lonia and Antioch, subject to the kings of 
Syria ; Alexandria, which was in Egypt, and 
Palestine, which lay between the two, and was 
subject alternately to the one or the other. 

The kings of Syria and Egypt, being thus 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 153 

intimately connected with the church of God, 
we might naturally expect would be noticed 
in the language of prophecy ; and so, by uni- 
versal consent, we find them. There is not a 
more remarkable prophecy in all the Bible — 
so remarkable, that infidels have often affirmed 
it must have been written subsequent to the 
events referred to— than that relating to the 
kings of the North and the South, or (which 
is the same) of Syria and Egypt, recorded in 
the eleventh chapter of Daniel. Before pro- 
ceeding farther with our history, let us pause 
a little, and compare these predictions with 
the facts, as these have been detailed. 

The vision, of which the 11th chapter of 
Daniel forms a part, was seen in the third 
year of Cyrus, king of Persia ; some four hun- 
dred years previous to the reign of Antiochus 
Epiphanes. The revealing angel commences 
with saying : " There shall yet stand up three 
kings in Persia ; and the fourth shall be richer 
than they ail ; and by his strength, he shall 
stir up all against the realm of Grecia," (v. 
2.) The three Persian kings here predicted, 



154 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

were Cambyses, Smerdis, and Darius Hvstas- 
pes. The fourth, who was to be richer than 
they ail, and who was to stir up all against 
the realm of Grecia, was Xerxes the Great. 
A memorable prediction this of his most unfor- 
tunate expedition into Greece. 

The mighty king who was to stand up after 
him (as predicted in the third verse,) and 
who should rule with great dominion, was 
Alexander the Great. The breaking up and 
dividing of his kingdom unto the four winds, 
but not to his posterity, (v. 4,) denotes, as I 
have before remarked, the sudden death of 
Alexander, and the division of his empire to 
his four great generals, Seleucus, Ptolemy, 
Lysimachus, and Cassancler. 

The king of the South (v. 5,) who shall be 
strong, is Ptolemy Soter, the first of the name 
who reigned in Egypt. The one of his (Alex- 
ander's) princes, who u shall be strong above 
him. and have a great dominion, 5 ' is Seleucus 
Nicator, the first of a long succession of Sy- 
rian kings, whose dominions far exceeded 
those of Ptolemy. The kings of the North 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 155 

and the South, through the remainder of the 
chapter, denote the successive kings of Syria 
and Egypt ; the former country lying North 
of Palestine, the latter South of it. 

" And in the end of the years," — in process 
of time, not immediately — " they" — the kings 
of the North and South — " shall join them- 
selves together : For the king's daughter of 
the South shall come to the king of the North 
to make an agreement," (v. 6.) After long 
wars between Syria and Egypt, Ptolemy 
Philadelphus gave his daughter Berenice in 
marriage to Antiochus Theos, in hope of put- 
ting an end to the contests between the two 
countries. " But she shall not retain the 
power of the arm ; neither shall he stand, nor 
his arm ; but she shall be given up, and they 
that brought her, and he that begat her, and 
he that strengthened her in these times," 
(v. 6.) When Ptolemy Philadelphus was 
dead — and his death occurred very soon — 
Antiochus put away Berenice, and took again 
his former wife, Laodice, who poisoned her 
husband, and caused Berenice and her child 



156 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

to be put to death. Here, then, is the death 
of Philadelphia, who brought her, begat her, 
and strengthened her ; the death of her hus- 
band, who received her ; her own death, and 
the death of her son, who was the intended 
heir of the crown of Syria. 

" But out of the branch of her roots," or 
from the same root with her, " shall one stand 
up in his estate." (v. 7.) The reference here 
is to Ptolemy Euergetes, brother of Berenice, 
and who, of course, sprang from the same root 
with her. He succeeded his father Philadel- 
phus, or " stood up in his estate." To avenge 
the death of his sister, he " came with an 
army, and entered into the fortress of the king 
of the jSTorth," and prevailed against him. On 
his return into Egypt, he carried with him 
" their gods, their princes, and their precious 
vessels of silver and gold." Jerome says that 
II Ptolemy brought with him out of Syria and 
the East 40,000 talents of silver, and 2.500 
statues of the gods," many of which were 
Egyptian idols which had before been carried 
into Syria. " And he shall continue more 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 157 

years than the king of the North. 55 (v. 8.) 
Ptolemy Euergetes outlived Seleucus Callini- 
cus by several years. 

" But his sons shall be stirred up, and 
shall assemble a multitude of great forces." 
(v. 10.) These were the sons of Seleucus 
Callinicus, viz., Seleucus Ceraunus, and An- 
tiochus the great. " And one shall cer- 
tainly come, and overflow, and pass through ; 
then shall he return, and be stirred up even 
to his fortress." (v. 10.) The one here 
spoken of is Antiochus the great ; for Cer- 
aunus accomplished very little. Antiochus 
raised a mighty army for the invasion of 
Egypt, and penetrated as far as Pelusium. 
Here Ptolemy Philopator made a truce with 
him for a few months. At the end of the 
truce, Antiochus returned, and penetrated to 
Kaphia, the fortress of the king of the South. 
" And the king of the South shall be moved 
with choler, and shall come forth and fight 
with him : and he " — the king of the North — 
" shall set forth a great multitude, but the 
multitude shall be given into his hand," i. e., 
into the hand of the king of the South. 

14 



158 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

" And when he hath taken away the multitude, 

he shall not be strengthened by it." 

(v. 11, 12.) All this literally came to pass. 
Ptolemy defeated Antiochus at Raphia, and 
took and destroyed a multitude of people. Still, 
he was not strengthened by the victory, as might 
have been expected. He made peace with An- 
tiochus on easy terms, and relapsed into his 
former debauched and listless course of life. 

The next seven verses of the prophecy 
relate to the further proceedings and destiny 
of Antiochus the great. "After certain years, 
the king of the North shall return with a 
great army, and with much riches." (v. 13.) 
Some fourteen years subsequent to his former 
invasion, after he had gained a series of vic- 
tories in the East, Antiochus did return for 
the conquest of Palestine and Egypt, with 
a greater army than before, and with much 
wealth. " And in those times, many shall stand 
up against the king of the South." (v. 14.) 
Owing to the feeble and wicked government 
which was now exercised in Egypt, many did 
rise up against it. The provinces revolted ; 
there were insurrections in Egypt itself ; the 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 159 

king of Macedon entered into a league "with 
Antiochus to divide the empire of Ptolemy 
between them. " Also the robbers of thv 
people," or among thy people, " shall exalt 
themselves to establish the vision." (v. 14.) 
The prevailing faction among the Jews broke 
away, at this time, from the dominion of 
Egypt, and placed themselves under the rule 
of Antiochus. " But they shall fall." (v. 14.) 
Xo sooner had Antiochus left Palestine, than 
a hired army of Greeks, under Scopas, "was 
sent by Ptolemy to recover the country and 
Jerusalem to Egypt. But " the king of the 
North shall come, and cast up a mount, and 
take the most fenced cities, and the arms of 
the South shall not withstand ; but he that 
cometh against him shall do according; to his 
will, and none shall stand before him." 
(v. 15, 16.) On hearing of the success of 
Scopas, Antiochus immediately returned, re- 
captured Palestine, besieged Scopas in Sidon 
and took him, and none was able to stand 
against him." He also shall set his face to 
enter (Egypt) with the strength of his 
whole kingdom." (v. 17.) Antiochus now 



160 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

meditates the entire subjugation of Egypt. 
But for some reason, he changes his plan, and 
enters into a pacification ; for this is the 
proper rendering of the next two paragraphs. 
Instead of trying to conquer Egypt by force, 
he plans to get possession of it by treaty ; and 
the main article of the treaty is next indicated. 
" He shall give him the daughter of women, 
corrupting her." (v. 17.) Antiochus proposed 
to give his daughter Cleopatra to the young 
king of Egypt in marriage, promising to be- 
stow upon her the provinces of Coelo-Syria 
and Palestine as her dowry. But all this he 
did with a corrupt design, expecting, through 
his daughter's influence, to make himself 
master of Egypt. But in this he was disap- 
pointed. " She shall not stand on his side, 
neither be for him." (v. 17.) After her mar- 
riage, Cleopatra preferred her husband's inter- 
ests to those of her father, and refused to carry 
out the plan which he had devised for her. 

" After this, shall he turn his face unto the 
isles, and shall take many ; but a prince, for 
his own behalf, shall cause the reproach 
olfered by him to cease." (v. 18.) After 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 161 



Antiochus had given up his designs upon 
Egypt, he turned his arms against the Gre- 
cian isles, and took several of them. This 
brought him into conflict with the Eomans ; 
and the Roman generals soon caused the 
reproaches which he had uttered against them 
to cease. They beat him at every point, 
drove him out of Europe, took from him the 
provinces of lesser Asia, and obliged him to 
bear all the expenses of the war. " Then 
shall he turn his face towards the fort of his 
own land ; but he shall stumble, and fall, and 
not be found." (v. 19.) After his disgraceful 
treaty with the Romans, Antiochus went into 
his own country ; and while engaged in plun- 
dering a temple in the East, was killed by the 
enraged populace. 

" Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser 
of taxes." &c, (v. 20.) Antiochus was suc- 
ceeded by his eldest son, Seleucus Philopator, 
a weak prince, who did little else but to 
" raise taxes " and collect tribute, to pay the 
enormous debt which his father had contracted 
to the Romans. 

The remainder of this chapter, or at least 

14* 



162 THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 

the greater part of it, is taken up in predict- 
ing the character, the exploits, the persecu- 
tions, and the end of Antiochus Epiphanes. 
" And in his estate shall stand up a vile 
person." (v. 21.) Antiochus was a younger 
brother of Seleucus Philopator, and succeeded 
him. He was, indeed, " a vile person." He 
took the name of Epiphanes , or Illustrious ; 
but his subjects often called him Epimanes^ or 
the Madman. " He shall come in peaceably, 
and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." (v. 21.) 
There were several aspirants to the throne, 
among whom vras the lawful heir, Demetrius, 
son of the former king ; but by flattering the 
court, the people, and some of the neighboring 
princes, Antiochus succeeded in obtaining 
peaceful possession of it. 

The next six verses (from the 22d to the 
27th inclusive) contain predictions of Antio- 
chus' first two successful expeditions against 
Egypt, in which he carried the war to the 
very gates of Alexandria. " He shall stir up 
his power and his courage against the king of 
the South, with a great army ; and the king 
of the South shall be stirred up to battle with 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 163 

a mighty army ; but lie shall not stand." 
(v. 25.) " With the arms of a flood shall 
they be overflown from before him, and shall 
be broken." (v. 22.) After this, Antiochus 
entered into some sort of covenant or agree- 
ment with the young king of Egypt, but hypo- 
critically, deceitfully, hoping in this way, to 
get possession of his kingdom. Hence, it is 
said in these verses that " after the league 
made with him, he shall work deceitfully." 
(v. 23.) He brought over to his interests 
some of the household of the king of Egypt ; 
in accordance with which it is said in the pre- 
diction ; " They that feed upon a portion of 
his meat shall destroy him." (v. 26.) An- 
tiochus even got possession, in some way, of 
the person of the king of Egypt, and had him 
with him, as I remarked before, in his camp 
and at his table. This circumstance is also 
noted in the prediction. " They shall speak 
lies at one table ; but it shall not prosper." 
(v. 27.) To account for the success with 
which Antiochus practiced his flatteries and 
falsehoods, it must be borne in mind, that 
Ptolemy Philometer, the young king of Egypt, 



164 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

was his nephew, his own sister's son. After 
having tried, in vain, utterly to extirpate him, 
Antiochus undertook to cajole and flatter him, 
and from a pretended concern for his welfare, 
to get possession of him and his kingdom. 
When his plans had been fully concerted, 
Antiochus returned, in the very words of the 
prophet, "with great riches, to his own land." 
(v. 28.) And what does he do, on his way 
thither? "His heart shall be against the holy 
covenant, and he shall do exploits." (v. 28.) 
On his march from Egypt to Antioch, the 
king came to Jerusalem, as before stated, and 
took it. He slew thousands of the Israelites, 
forced himself into the recesses of the temple, 
sacrificed a sow on the altar of burnt offering, 
and otherwise defiled the holy place. 

" At the time appointed he shall return, 
and come toward the. South ; but it shall not 
be as the former, or as the latter." (v. 29.) 
This relates to his last invasion of Egypt, 
which was very different in its results from 
either of his former expeditions. " For the 
ships of Chittim shall come against him ; there- 
fore shall he be grieved, and return." (v. 30.) 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 165 



These ships of Chittim are those which brought 
Papilius, and the other Roman Ambassadors, 
who compelled Antiochus (much to his grief 
and disappointment) to raise the siege of 
Alexandria, and return into his own land. 

We have before seen that on his wav to 
Antioch at this time, Antiochus despatched 
Apollonius to Jerusalem, to vent his rage 
again upon that devoted city. All this is 
very distinctly noticed by the prophet, " He 
shall have indignation against the holy cove- 
nant," and " shall have intelligence with them 
that forsake the holy covenant," i. e. with the 
renegade apostate Jews ; " and arms shall 
stand on his part, and they shall pollute the 
sanctuary of strength, and shall take away 
the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the 
abomination that maketh desolate ; and such 
as do wickedly against the covenant shall he 
corrupt by flatteries." (v. 30, 31, 32.) All 
this was literally fulfilled, in the sacking of 
Jerusalem and the temple by Apollonius, as 
before stated. 

It was just at this point, as we have seen, 
that the Maccabees raised the standard of 



166 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

revolt, and the Jews were temporarily deliv- 
ered. To this deliverance there is a reference 
in the following verses. " The people that 
know their God shall be strong, and shall do 
exploits. And they that understand among 
the people shall instruct many." (v. 82, 83.) 

The remainder of the chapter, owing either to 
our imperfect history of the times, or because 
some other hostile personage is introduced, is 
not of so obvious interpretation. Yet there 
are passages which were strikingly fulfilled 
upon Antiochus. Thus, while he was medi- 
tating a more terrible infliction upon the Jews 
than any they had before suffered, we are told 
that " tidings out of the East and out of the 
North shall trouble him ; therefore he shall 
go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly 
to make away many. Yet he shall come to 
his end, and none shall help him." (v. 44, 45.) 
These tidings related, as the history informs 
us, to the revolts in Armenia, and in Persia, 
which defeated his plan of going at once, and 
in person, against the Jews. While prosecut- 
ing his designs in the East, he heard of the 
successes of Judas Maccabseus in Palestine, 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 167 

and sat out in great wrath and fury to return. 
But now the end of his carnage and persecu- 
tions has come. The vengeance of insulted 
heaven overtakes him. He conies to his end, 
and there is none to help him. 

I have thus endeavored to lay before my 
readers, so far as we have the means of doing 
it, the fulfillment of this remarkable predic- 
tion! It is so remarkable that I felt justified 
in pausing in the progress of our history, for 
the purpose. We know, as well as we can 
know any thing on the testimony of the an- 
cients, that the prophecy of Daniel was written 
at least four hundred years before the time of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, and long before any 
part of what we have here referred to was 
accomplished. And yet, with what wonder- 
ful, minute, circumstantial exactness was it 
fulfilled ! And I have no doubt that the ful- 
fillment would appear still more exact, if we 
had the history as accurately as we have the 
prophecy. But as it is, this prediction alone 
is enough to confound the infidel, and vindi- 
cate the claim of the book containing it to its 
place among the oracles of God. 



168 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



CHAPTER VII. 

Exploits of the Maccabees. History of the 
Jeivs to the death of John Hyrcanus. 

In my last chapter I brought down the history 
of the times to the death of Antiochus Epiph- 
anes. I detailed the successes of the Macca- 
bees in Palestine ; and showed how remarkably 
one of the last predictions of Daniel was ful- 
filled, in the kings of Syria and Egypt. 

Antiochus Epiphanes was succeeded by his 
son, Antiochus Eupator, a child only nine 
years of age. By his will, the father had 
entrusted the young king to the guardianship 
of Philip, one of his most faithful servants, 
who hastened to Antioch to assume the charge. 
But when he arrived, he found that Lysias 
had already taken upon him that office, and 
Philip, being too weak to contest the point, 
fled into Egypt. 

Meanwhile, the Maccabees were busy in 
Palestine, defending themselves against their 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 169 

heathen neighbors, the Edomites, Ammonites, 
and Gileadites, who had conspired together 
for their destruction. Of the Edomites, in 
two expeditions, Judas slew not less than forty 
thousand men. The Ammonites, under Tinio- 
theus their governor, invaded Judea with a 
very great army, intending nothing less than 
the utter destruction of the Jevfs. But Judas, 
having commended his cause to God, went 
forth to meet them, and left thirty thousand 
of their number, horse and foot, dead upon 
the field. The Gileadites next resolved to try 
their fortune in this war, and commenced by 
besieging and destroying such of the J ews as 
dwelt within their own borders. But Judas 
hastened to the relief of his brethren, dis- 
persed their enemies, and slew of them eight 
thousand men. At the same time, his brother 
Simon was sent with an army into Galilee, to 
chastise the oppressors of God's people there. 

Lysias, hearing at Antioch of these suc- 
cesses of the Jews, thought it time for him to 
interpose. Wherefore, getting together an 
army of eighty thousand men, besides horse- 
men and elephants, he pressed into Judea, 
is 



170 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

threatening, as others had clone before him, 
utterly to exterminate the Jews, and make 
Jerusalem a habitation for the Gentiles. He 
encamped, as he had done on a former expe- 
dition, at Bethsura, a strong fortress between 
Jerusalem and Idumea. But Judas, nothing 
daunted, went forth to meet him, and slew 
eleven thousand foot, and sixteen hundred 
horsemen, and put the rest of this great army 
to flight. Thus humbled, Lysias was willing 
to give peace to the Jews. By the terms of 
the treaty, the decree of Epiphanes, requiring 
the Jews to conform to the religion of the 
Greeks, was wholly rescinded, and they were 
permitted everywhere to live according to 
their own laws. 

But the peace thus • established was soon 
interrupted, by the treachery of the surround- 
ing tribes. The men of Joppa rose upon the 
Jews of that city, and threw two hundred of 
them into the sea. To chastise them for this, 
Judas fell upon them by night, burned their 
shipping and their fortifications, and slew all 
the men of the city that could be found. 

He was next drawn quite to the other side 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 171 

of Palestine, to the help of his distressed 
brethren in Gileacl. He here encountered 
Timotheus a second time, who had now col- 
lected an army of 120,000 foot, and 2,500 
horse, to oppose him. Judas met this great 
multitude at a place called Raphon, on the 
river Jabbok, and slew of them thirty thousand 
men. In another engagement with the rem- 
nant of the same army, he slew twenty-five 
thousand more. On his return to Jerusalem, 
he was obliged to pass through the city of 
Ephron, where Lysias had a garrison of sol- 
diers. He desired and requested that he 
might be permitted to go on his way peace- 
ably ; but as his request was not granted, he 
carried the place by assault, slew twenty-five 
thousand of the inhabitants, and took their 
spoil. Arrived at Jerusalem from this hazard- 
ous but triumphant expedition, Judas and all 
his company went up to the temple, and ren- 
dered thanksgiving and praise to the God of 
Israel, for his most merciful interpositions in 
their behalf. 

Judas now undertook, for the second time, 
to reduce the fortress of Acra at Jerusalem ; 



172 THE ANCIENT CHUKCH 

the same ■which Apollonius had built years 
before, to overlook and command the temple. 
But before this could be accomplished, Lysias 
was again upon him, with an army of one hun- 
dred and twenty thousand, horse and foot, 
and thirty-two elephants, attended and encour- 
aged by the presence of the young king. 
This unwieldly host encamped, as before, at 
the fortress of Bethsura, where Judas fell 
upon them by night, and slew four thousand 
of them, before they had light enough to see 
where to oppose him. The next day, the two 
armies came to an open engagement, in which 
Eleazer, one of the brothers of Judas, was 
slain, and he was himself obliged, for the first 
time, to retreat. He fell back upon Jerusalem, 
and fortified himself within the precincts of the 
temple. Lysias followed and besieged him ; 
but before the fortresses of the temple could 
be reduced, he was summoned to Antioch, to 
quell a formidable insurrection there. When 
about to withdraw his army from Jerusalem, 
he renewed his former treaty with the Jews. 

The ex-high priest Menelaus, who bought 
the office of Antiochus Epiphanes, and w T ho 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 173 

had been the cause of most of the miseries 
which the Jews had suffered, was present with 
the Syrians at this time, hoping by some 
means to be re-instated. But Lysias, who 
knew his character, and was heartily sick of 
the conflict which he was constantly striving 
to foment, seized him on his return to Antioch, 
and smothered him in ashes ; — a kind of death 
which was inflicted only on the most atrocious 
criminals, and which Menelaus richly deserved. 
The pontifical office was now conferred upon 
Alcimus, a man scarcely less wicked than 
Menelaus himself. 

But the end of Lysias, and of the young king 
whom he had in charge, was now come. For De- 
metrius, the son of Seleucus Philopator, whom 
Antiochus Epiphanes had defrauded of his right 
to the throne, having escaped from Rome where 
he had long been kept as an hostage, suddenly 
made his appearance in Syria. He pretended 
that he had been sent by the Roman Senate 
to take possession of the kingdom ; upon which 
the court, the soldiers and the people, all 
came at once into his interest, and Lysias and 
the young king were put to death. 

1 5* 



174 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Demetrius, who took the name of Soter, 
was early incited by Alcimus, the wicked 
high priest, to renew the war against the Jews. 
For this purpose, Bacchides w r as sent into 
Judea ; and after him Nicanor, an old adver- 
sary, whom Judas had once defeated. He 
besieged Jerusalem and the temple, and 
uttered blasphemous words against it, threat- 
ening to pull it down, and build a temple to 
Bacchus in its place. But coming to a battle 
with Judas, Nicanor was slain, and his whole 
army routed. So entire was this destruction, 
that the writer of the first book of the Macca- 
bees says, " there w 7 as not a man of the army 
left to carry the news of their defeat to 
Antioch." \ 

Shortly after this victory, Judas sent an 
embassy to Borne, praying that the Jews 
might be acknowledged as friends, and allies 
of the Romans, and that a league of mutual 
defence might be established between them. 
The ambassadors were favorably received, and 
the request granted ; but before tidings to 
this effect could reach Jerusalem, or Antioch, 
Judas Mac'cabseus was no more. Bacchides 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 



175 



having been sent a second time, into Judea, 
with a great army, to avenge the defeat and 
death of Nicanor, Judas encountered him with 
only eight hundred men. It was in this most 
unequal and desperate conflict, that he lost his 
life. His body was recovered by his brothers 
Jonathan and Simon, and honorably buried in 
the sepulchre of his fathers. 

Of the character of Judas Maccabeus, his 
public acts are, perhaps, the best expositors. 
That he was wise in counsel and powerful in 
action, — brave, daring, and all but invincible, 
his unparalleled achievements and successes 
declare. But he possessed, we think, some- 
thing better than all this. He had a steady 
faith and trust in God ; a zeal like that of Phi- 
nehas, his great progenitor ; a feeling, all the 
while, that he was doing the Lord's work, and 
that the God of Israel was with him. It was 
this which nerved his arm for the deadly con- 
flict, and led him on from victory to victory. 
It will be said, perhaps, that he was a man of 
blood ; and so he was. But then his wars 
were ail of them strictly defensive. He was 
placed in circumstances where he must fight 



176 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

or die ; and if he died, to all human appear- 
ance, the cause which he supported must die 
with him. His battles were all prefaced with 
prayer, and ended w r ith thanksgiving. The 
glory of his achievements he felt and acknowl- 
edged were due only to the Lord. In the 
religious aspects of his character, — in his hum- 
ble prayer, his dauntless fortitude, his over- 
coming faith, and his devout ascriptions of 
thanksgiving and praise ; in the manner in 
which he was drawn, or rather driven, into 
the field of conflict, and in which he acquitted 
himself there ; Judas more resembled the 
Puritan Cromwell, than any other general of 
modern times. His history belongs, not merely 
to the Jews, but like that of Moses, and 
Joshua, and David, and Nehemiah, is the 
property of the whole church of God. 

The death of Judas was followed with great 
discouragement and distress to his followers. 
The execrable high priest Alcimus triumphed 
everywhere, and many of the Maccabseans 
were put to death. In this extremity, those 
of them which remained, gathered around 
Jonathan and Simon, brothers of Judas, and 



177 



placed them at the head of their affairs. In 
the first year of Jonathan, which was 1G0 
before Christ, Alcimus, the great troubler of 
Israel, died, and the pontificate remained 
vacant several years. Demetrius also, (influ- 
enced undoubtedly by letters from Rome), 
withdrew his forces from the country, and the 
land had a season of rest and peace. 

But the peace and prosperity of Israel their 
heathen neighbors, (as in former times), could 
not endure. Filled with envy, they ceased 
not to teaze and urge the king, until Bacchides 
was sent with another army into Judea. The 
plan was, to surprise Jonathan and his follow- 
ers, and cut them all off in a single night. 
But Jonathan had timely warning of the plot, 
and falling upon the conspirators, he slew the 
most of them. He then retired to one of his 
strong fortresses in the wilderness, where he 
so wearied and harassed Bacchides, that he 
was glad to make peace with him on favorable 
terms. Bacchides now left the country, 
heartily sick of this kind of warfare, and de- 
claring that he would never more contend 
against the Jews ; — a promise which he faith- 

• 



178 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

fully kept. Shortly after this, Jonathan estab- 
lished himself at Michmash, a little way from 
Jerusalem, where he judged Israel according 
to the law, and reformed, so far as he was 
able, whatever was amiss in church or state. 

In the eighth yfcar of Jonathan, an impos- 
tor calling himself Alexander Balas, and pre- 
tending to be a son of Antiochus Epiphanes, 
made an attempt upon the throne of Syria. 
And so strongly was he supported, and so 
unpopular had Demetrius made himself with 
his subjects, that, for a time, he was successful. 
Alexander prevailed, and Demetrius was slain. 
While the question between them was at issue, 
both kings appealed to Jonathan, and made to 
him the most flattering offers, each hoping to 
gain him over to his own party. But J ona- 
than, having suffered so much, and so often, 
from Demetrius, and withal having no confi- 
dence in his promises, concluded to cast in his 
lot with Alexander. Nor was the new king, 
although an usurper, false to the engagements 
which he had made. He constituted Jonathan 
high priest of the Jews, which office continued 

in the Asmonean family, till the time of 

m 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 179 



Herod. He also clothed him in purple, and 
caused him to be enrolled among the chief of 
his friends, and as one of the first princes of 
the empire. 

In giving a history of the Jews in these 
times, we must not forget the large body of 
them who were settled in Egypt. At the 
death of Antiochus Epiphanes, two brothers, 
Ptolemy Philometer, and Ptolemy Physcon, 
were contending for the crown of Egypt. 
Philometer, the eldest, was a mild, amiable, 
but unfortunate prince ; while Physcon was 
luxurious, selfish, debauched, cruel, and alto- 
gether one of the most odious characters in all 
antiquity. The dispute between them was 
referred to the Roman Senate, who concluded 
to divide the kingdom, giving a part to each. 
Philometer reigned in Alexandria, and in all 
lower Egypt, — the part which was most thickly 
settled with the Jews. Among his chief coun- 
selors was Onias, a Jew, the son of that Onias 
who was ejected from the pontifical office at 
Jerusalem, to make room for Jason, and after- 
wards for Menelaus. He had interest enough 
with the king to obtain his consent for the 



180 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



building of a Jewish temple in Egypt, almost 
precisely similar to that at Jerusalem. The 
site which he chose for it was in the prefecture 
of Heliopolis, about twenty miles from Mem- 
phis, where a heathen temple had formerly 
stood. The whole province was thickly inhab- 
ited by Jews ; and in it Onias built a city, 
calling it Onion, from his own name. In this 
Egyptian temple, Divine service was cele- 
brated, in the same order and manner as in 
the temple at Jerusalem, for more than two 
hundred years. The structure was finally 
destroyed by the command of the Roman 
Emperor Vespasian. 

Alexander Balas had scarcely become set- 
tled in the government of Syria, when giving 
himself up to luxury and pleasure, and neg- 
lecting almost entirely the affairs of his king- 
dom, his subjects grew uneasy, and were again 
wishing for a change. Whereupon Demetrius, 
(the son of the late king Demetrius Soter), 
who had been brought up in' Greece, thought 
it a favorable opportunity to assert his claims. 
Accompanied by a band of Cretans, he landed 
in Cilicia, and soon drew around him a great 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 181 



army. Jonathan thought it his duty to stand 
by Alexander, with whom he was in treaty, 
and from whom he had received distinguished 
favors. But not even his powerful support 
could save him. Demetrius prevailed, and 
Alexander was vanquished and slain. In con- 
sequence of his victory over the usurper, this 
Demetrius received the name of Nicator, or 
the Conqueror. 

The yea rof Alexander Balas' death (145 
before Christ) is one of considerable note in 
history. This year died Ptolemy Philometer, 
king of lower Egypt. This year Carthage was 
destroyed, at the close of the third Punic war. 
This year, ancient Corinth was also destroyed 
by Lucius Mummius, the Roman Consul. 
This, too, was the year in which Polybius 
closed his celebrated history, in forty books, 
only five of which remain. This history com- 
mences with the beginning of the second Punic 
war, and extends to the close of the third. 

Prom this time, the affairs of Syria become 
exceedingly perplexed. Demetrius Nicator 
proves himself to be a cruel tyrant, neglects 
his duties, violates his engagements, and alien- 

16 



182 



ates the affections of his subjects. Whereupon 
a conspiracy is formed by one Tryphon, who 
takes Antiochus Eutheus, a son of Alexander 
Balas, and sets him up for king in place of 
Demetrius. 

This plot succeeds for a -while, when Try- 
phon finds it convenient to destroy Eutheus, 
and put the crown upon his own head. Still 
Demetrius is not vanquished. He continues 
the war against Tryphon for a season, and 
then marches into the East to resist the Par- 
thians, and to quell disturbances there. He 
here falls into the hands of the Parthians, and 
remains a captive among them for several 
years. 

But the captive monarch leaves a brother 
behind him, — a younger son of Demetrius 
Soter, who is now summoned out of Greece to 
resist Tryphon, and take possession of the 
throne of his ancestors. He listens to the 
summons, comes into Syria with an army of 
mercenaries, drives Tryphon from the govern- 
ment into exile, and reigns nine years. He is 
known in history as Antiochus Sidetes, or the 
Hunter, 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 183 

Such is a brief statement, — the briefest 
possible, of the changes which took place in 
the government of Syria, in the course of five 
or six years. The Jews of Palestine were 
variously affected, during these changes ; but 
on the whole, their strength increased. The 
most painful event of the times to them, was 
the death of their noble and faithful chieftain, 
Jonathan. By false promises and flatteries, 
the wretch Tryphon got him into his hands, 
and took his life. He was buried at Moclin, 
by the side of his father, and his brother 
Judas ; and Simon, the only surviving brother, 
erected a noble monument over them, which 
was standing uninjured in the days of Euse- 
bius, after a space of some five hundred years. 

On the death of Jonathan, Simon was 
chosen high priest, and was acknowledged as 
the ruler and judge of Israel. He renewed 
the league already existing between the Jews 
and the Romans, and was constituted by De- 
metrius, before his captivity, a sovereign 
prince. He demolished that heathen fortress, 
which had so long been a terror and a trouble 
to the Jews at J erusalem ; not only razing it 



184 TEE ANCIENT CHURCH 

to its foundations, but leveling down the hill 
on which it stood ; so that no similar structure 
could ever be built there. He established 
garrisons throughout the country, and fortified 
the port of Joppa, that he might secure to his 
people the benefits of commerce. Having no 
brother to succeed him, and finding his son, 
John Hyrcanus, to be a true and valiant man, 
he appointed him general-in-chief of all the 
forces of Judea. 

Antiochus Sidetes had hardly become seated 
on his throne, when he set himself to recover 
Judea to his empire, and for this purpose en- 
gaged in a war with Simon. But John Hyr- 
canus and Judas, two of the sons of Simon, 
vanquished him in battle, destroyed his towers 
and fortresses, and slew two thousand of his men. 

Three years after this, as Simon, with two 
of his sons, was making a tour through the 
cities of Judah, to see that justice was duly 
administered, they came to Jericho, and were 
invited by the governor to a festival, which he 
had prepared for them. But while they were 
eating and drinking in his house, a band of 
assassins, who were had in readiness, fell upon 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 185 

them, and slew them. And thus ended the 
family of good old Matthias, and the first gen- 
eration of Asmonean princes and warriors. 

Happily, John Hyrcanus was not with his 
father and brothers at this time, but was at 
the fortress of Gazara, in the western part of 
Palestine. The treacherous governor of Jeri- 
. cho sent messengers immediately to surprise 
and destroy him, thinking to deliver the whole 
country into the hands of Antiochus ; but 
John had timely warning of his danger, and 
no sooner did the messengers appear, than 
they were seized and put to death. He then 
hastened to Jerusalem and secured it, together 
with the fortresses of the temple, and was 
unanimously elected to the place of his father, 
as high priest, and sovereign ruler of the Jews. 

But Antiochus, who had concerted the 
death of Simon, was still intent upon recover- 
ing Juclea to his empire. He therefore raised 
an army, and ravaged the country, and shut 
up Hyrcanus in Jerusalem. But when he had 
pressed the siege to the last extremity, and 
the distressed Jews were almost ready to 
yield, the Lord put it into his heart (in oppo- 

16* 



186 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

sition to most of his advisers), to listen to 
proposals, and to make peace -with them. To 
be sure, a tribute was exacted of them, but 
the deliverance was a great one, and was 
owing entirely (under God), to the unexpected 
clemency of the king. 

Some years after this, Antiochus led a great 
army into the East, professedly to release his 
captive brother Demetrius, but really to in- 
crease his dominions, by the subjection of 
the revolted Eastern provinces. At the first, 
he was successful, and recovered Media and 
Babylonia. John Hyrcanus accompanied him 
in this expedition, participated in his tri- 
umphs, and returned with glory at the end of 
the year. But the Syrians determined to 
whiter in the East, and while scattered about 
in different places, the Parthians fell upon 
them and cut them all off. Antiochus himself 
was slain, and scarcely a man returned to tell 
the story of the disaster. 

Meanwhile, the captive monarch Deme- 
trius made his escape, and came back to take 
possession of his kingdom. Hyrcanus also, 
taking advantage of these disturbances, en- 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 187 

larged his dominions, freed himself from all 
subjection to the Syrian yoke, and became an 
independent prince. He took Shechern, the 
principal seat of the Samaritans, and des- 
troyed their temple, which Sanballat had built 
for them on mount Gerizim. He conquered 
the Idumeans, who had long dwelt in the 
southern part of what was anciently Judea, 
and compelled them either to embrace the 
Jewish religion, or to leave the country. They 
chose the former alternative, were circum- 
cised, and became, as to their religion, Jews. 
From this period, we hear no more of the 
Idumeans or Edomites, as a distinct people. 
Hyrcanus also sent an embassy to the Ro- 
mans, to inform them of his position and pros- 
pects, and to seek the continuance of their 
friendship. His ambassadors were graciously 
received, the independence of Judea was ac- 
knowledged, and it was decreed that the Sy- 
rians should no longer be permitted to invade 
the Jewish territories, or to march their amies 
through them. 

I have before said that Demetrius, after 
having been so long a captive among the Par- 



188 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

thians, escaped, on the death of Antiochus 
his brother, and recovered his kingdom. He 
projected an expedition against Egypt, and 
marched an army to Pelusium to commence 
the war. But he was obliged to return to 
quell disturbances in his own kingdom, soon 
after which he was dethroned and slain. 

The kingdom of Syria was now divided be- 
tween Cleopatra, the widow of the late king, 
and an usurper by the name of Zebina, who 
pretended to be a son of Alexander Balas. 
But neither of them lived more than a year. 
Zabina was slain in a tumult at Antioch ; and 
Cleopatra, who was a very wicked woman, was 
compelled by her son to drink a cup of poison 
which she had prepared for him. 

The Syrian empire, after some severe strug- 
gles, was again rent into two parts. Two sons 
of Cleopatra, the one by Demetrius, and the 
other by his brother Antiochus, divided it 
between themselves. Antiochus Cyzicenus, 
reigned at Damascus over Coelo-Syria and 
Phenicia, and Antiochus Grypus reigned at 
Antioch over all the rest. While these broth- 
ers were contending one with the other, Hyr- 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 189 

canus was profiting by their dissensions, and 
growing continually in riches and in power. 
In the year 110 before Christ, he besieged 
and took Samaria, which had been inhabited 
by Greeks from the time of Alexander the 
great. He not only demolished its walls and 
houses, but by means of trenches, he laid the 
whole site of the city under water. From 
this time, he became master of all Judea, Sa- 
maria, and Galilee, and was regarded as one 
of the most considerable princes of the age in 
which he lived. 

We turn now for a moment from Syria and 
Palestine, to contemplate the affairs of Egypt. 
On the death of Philometer, Ptolemy Phys- 
con married his widow, and became sole mon- 
arch of the country. He was, as I have said, 
one of the most odious and brutal characters 
in all antiquity. He was deformed in body, 
as well as mind. He was ugly in features, 
short in stature, and of such monstrous lateral 
dimensions that no one man could encompass 
him with both his arms. Yet, notwithstand- 
ing his deformities and his wickedness, he 
reigned over Egypt fifty-two years ; twenty- 



190 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

three in connection with Philometer, and 
twenty-nine alone. His ancestors had dis- 
tinguished themselves as friends of learning, 
and had gathered around them learned men 
from all parts of the civilized world. But 
Physcon, by his cruelty, drove these men 
from him, and scattered them abroad, wher- 
ever they could find a place. Indeed, he 
drove out or destroyed most of the ancient 
families of Alexandria, and peopled the city 
to a great extent with foreigners. 

In the thirty-eighth year of his reign, J esus, 
the son of Sirach, came from Jerusalem into 
Egypt, and translated from the original He- 
brew into Greek the book which, in our apoc- 
ryphal Scriptures, is called Ecclesiasticus. It 
was written by Jesus, the father of Sirach, 
about the time of Seleucus Philopator, while 
Onias II. was high priest at Jerusalem. It 
consists chiefly of short pithy sentences or 
proverbs, after the manner of Solomon, many 
of which are weighty and valuable for the 
conduct of life. 

Ptolemy Physcon was succeeded in the 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 191 

government of Egypt by his two sons, Lathy- 
rus and Alexander. 

Hyrcanus continued in the government of 
Palestine, after the death of his father Simon, 
twenty-nine years. He was the founder of 
the castle Baris, near the temple in Jerusa- 
lem, which w r as the palace of the Asmonian 
princes, as long as they reigned there. Herod 
afterwards converted it into the castle Anto- 
nia, which was standing in the Apostolic age. 
(See Acts 21 : 37.) In the latter part of 
his life, Hyrcanus had a quarrel with the 
Pharisees, which caused him and his success- 
ors no little trouble. Up to this time he had 
rather favored the Pharisees, and was re- 
garded as one of their number. But being 
charged by one of them, falsely, with being 
the son of a captive woman, and therefore in- 
capable according to the law, of sustaining the 
high priest's office, and the rest of the Phari- 
sees not consenting that the slanderer should 
be punished as Hyrcanus felt that he de- 
served ; he regarded them all as in some way 
concerned in the libel, and responsible for it. 
He separated from the Pharisees, therefore, 



192 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

in disgust, and attached himself rather to the 
Sadducees than to them. Hyrcanus died in 
the year before Christ 106, — the same in 
which Pompey and Cicero were born ; and 
was succeeded, both in the pontifical and regal 
office, by his eldest son, Aristobulus. 

As I have spoken of the Pharisees in this 
connection, it may not be improper to close 
the chapter with a short account of this trou- 
blesome sect. Of the origin of the Saddu- 
cees, I have already treated. They were the 
followers of Sadoc^ a religious teacher at Je- 
rusalem, who flourished in the reign of Ptol- 
emy Philadelphus. They adhered strictly to 
the law, rejecting the traditions, and rejecting 
also the doctrine of future rewards and pun- 
ishments. These men were the liberalise of 
their times. They were never numerous, but 
embraced many of the higher and wealthier 
families among the Jews. The Pharisees, on 
the contrary, were & popular sect. They car- 
ried with them, not only the scribes and men 
learned in the law, but the great mass of the 
common people. They received as Divine, 
not only the books of Moses, but all the other 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 193 

books of the Old Testament. They also re- 
ceived the traditions of the elders, ascribing 
to them the same authority as to the written 
word. They held to the doctrine of the res- 
urrection, and to a state of rewards and pun- 
ishments beyond the grave. In practice, they 
were strict formalists, who talked much of re- 
ligion, and made pretensions to superior sanc- 
tity. They are supposed to have derived their 
name from the Hebrew word Pliaras, signi- 
fying to separate ; because they separated 
themselves from all men who did not receive 
their peculiar notions, and come up to their 
standard. They probably originated at the 
same time with the traditions and the Mish- 
nical doctors, not long after the period of 
Simon the Just. They w T ere sometimes 
called Cliasidim, or Chasidceans, i. e. the 
pious men ; but we do not hear of them un- 
der the name of Pharisees, until the age of 
Hyrcanus. They continued down to the time 
of the Saviour; and since his time, have 
swallowed up nearly all other distinctions 
among the Jews. 

17 



194 . THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

History of the Jetvs to the end of the Asmo- 
nean Dynasty, and the commencement of 
the Reign of Herod. 

At the close of the last chapter, two kings 
were reigning in Syria, Antiochus Cyzicenus 
and Antiochus Grypus. Two kings were also 
reigning in Egypt, Lathyrus and Alexander, 
both sons of Ptolemy Physcon. Aristobulus, 
the son of Hyrcanus, was high priest and 
ruler of the Jews. 

From this point, it will not be necessary to 
give a detailed account of the affairs of Syria 
and Egypt. Both nations were enervated by 
vice, and torn and weakened by perpetual dis- 
sensions, and the way was fast preparing for 
them to be swallowed up in the wide spread- 
ing, engulfing power of Rome. Antiochus 
Grypus was slain in the twenty-ninth year of 
his reign — the year 96 before Christ ; and 
three years later, Cyzicenus was slain by Se- 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 195 

leucus, the eldest son of Grypus. Shortly 
after, Seleucus was slain by Antiockus Euse- 
bes, a son of Cyzicenus. Antiochus, the 
second son of Grypus, then attacked Eusebes, 
and was overcome, killed, and his army cut 
to pieces. The contest was now carried on, 
with various success, between Eusebes, and 
the three surviving sons of Grypus, viz., 
Pilip, Demetrius, and Dionysius, until the Sy- 
rians, wearied out with the contentions of 
these troublesome princes, offered the crown of 
Syria to Tigranes, king of Armenia. This 
took place in the year 83 before Christ. 

Meanwhile, the affairs of Egypt were 
scarcely more settled than those of Syria. 
Although there were nominally, as I said, 
two kings of Egypt, yet Cleopatra, the mother 
of both, was virtually the sovereign ruler. Be- 
cause Lathyrus, her eldest son, displeased 
her, she took from him his wife, drove him out 
of Egypt, and left him only the government 
of Cyprus. Upon this, Alexander, her young- 
est son, fled from her in disgust, and was with 
difficulty persuaded to return. Some years 
after this, Cleopatra undertook to destroy 



196 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Alexander, that she might reign alone ; but 
he discovered her design, and put her to 
death. For the murder of his mother, Alex- 
ander was driven out of the country, defeated 
and slain, and Lathyrus became the sole mon- 
arch of Egypt. In the year 80 before Christ, 
Lathyrus died, and the crown descended to a 
son of his deceased brother, whose name also 
was Alexander. 

With these brief notices of Syria and 
Egypt, let us now turn to the history of the 
Jews. The first generation of Maccabsean prin- 
ces were noble men. Some of them, we think, 
were truly pious men. Our knowledge of the 
second generation is limited almost entirely to 
John Hyrcanus, the son of Simon. And though 
his character was less virtuous than that of 
his immediate predecessors, yet he was, on the 
whole, a brave, true-hearted and faithful ruler. 
Certainly the Jews owed to him a debt of 
gratitude, which some of them were little in- 
clined to pay. 

Hyrcanus left five sons ; but these had not 
been disciplined and educated like their fathers, 
and they exhibited very different traits of char- 



TINDER THE MACCABEES. 197 

acter, as we shall see. Aristobulus, the eldest, 
(who took uponhira the title of king) commenced 
his reign by casting his mother into prison, 
where she perished with hunger. He also 
imprisoned his three youngest brothers. For 
Antigonus, who was next to himself in age, 
he had more affection, and entrusted to him, 
in part, the administration of affairs. The 
two brothers conquered the Iturseans, who 
dwelt in the northeasterly part of Palestine, 
and proselyted them to the Jewish religion. 
After his return from this expedition, Aris- 
tobulus became jealous of Antigonus, and 
caused him to be waylaid in one of the secret 
passages leading to and from the temple, and 
put to death. 

But from this time, the cruel monarch en- 
joyed not one moment's peace. He was sick 
in body, but more diseased and distressed in 
mind. His guilt in destroying his mother, 
and then murdering his faithful brother, tor- 
tured his conscience, and contributed, with 
other causes, to hasten his end. He reigned 
only one year. 

Upon his death, his three brothers were re- 

IT* 



198 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

leased from prison, and Alexander Janneus, 
the eldest of them, succeeded to the mitre and 
the throne. The next eldest brother at- 
tempted to depose Alexander, and "was exe- 
cuted ; but the youngest, Absalom, being con- 
tented to live in a private way, was tolerated 
by the king. 

Alexander was a restless, ambitious prince, 
who experienced almost every variety of for- 
tune, but left his dominions wider than he 
found them. This was partly owing to his 
own bravery and skill, but more to the dissen- 
sions of the neighboring States. His borders 
were first invaded by Lathyrus, one of the 
kings of Egypt, who defeated and might have 
ruined him, — had not Cleopatra, who was hos- 
tile to Lathyrus, come to his relief. Next, 
he was drawn into a snare by Cleopatra, and 
would have been slain by her, but for the in- 
tercession of one of her chief counselors, who 
was an Alexandrian Jew. After the depart- 
ure of Cleopatra, Alexander made some im- 
portant conquests. He took the fortresses of 
Gadara and Amathus, on the other side of the 
Jordan ; and then directing his march south- 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 199 

ward, he got possession of Raphia, and Gaza, 
and Anthedon. He subdued also the Grilead- 
ites and Moabites ; but in an expedition 
against Gaulonitis, he fell into an ambush, 
lost his army, and came very near losing his 
life. 

In the year 91 before Christ, there was a 
civil war in Judea, which wasted the country 
for the space of six years, and cost the lives 
of not less than fifty thousand Jews. It grew 
out of the old quarrel of the Pharisees with 
Hyrcanus, and their consequent hatred of 
him, and of his house. While Alexander was 
offering sacrifices in the temple, they com- 
menced pelting him with citrons, and calling 
him by the most opprobrious names, which en- 
raged him to such a degree, that he fell upon 
them and slew six thousand men. Still the 
Pharisees were not subdued, but persisting in 
their opposition, the king asked them what 
they would have, promising to satisfy them, if 
it was in his power. To this they replied that 
but one thing would satisfy them, and that was 
for him to cut his throat. On no other terms 
would they be at peace with him ; and he 



200 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

might think himself happy if they suffered 
him to rest even in his grave. 

Seeing them actuated by such a spirit, 
Alexander prepared for war ; and his enemies 
called in the aid of one of the Syrian kings 
to oppose him. In this contest, Alexander 
* was beaten, and would have been ruined, had 
not his enemies become alarmed at their own 
successes, and volunteered, some of them, for 
his relief. From this time, he pursued the 
rebels with great energy, until he drove the 
most of them into the fortress of Bethsura, 
where they were besieged and captured. To 
be revenged on them for their obstinacy, he 
took eight hundred of the leaders to Jerusa- 
lem, and crucified them together. And as 
though this were not enough, while they hung 
dying on the cross, he butchered their wives 
and children before their eyes. This was an 
act of barbarity and cruelty, such as the 
world has seldom witnessed, and for which he 
could have no excuse. And yet it was not 
without its effect upon those of the rebels who 
survived. Horror stricken at such an exam- 
ple, they fled the country, and Alexander had 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 201 

no more trouble from them to the day of his 
death. 

Being thus freed from civil war, Alexander 
undertook still further to extend his domin- 
ions. He took Dios and Pella, and the strong 
fortress of Gerasa, where he obtained a large 
amount of treasure. Two years later, he 
pushed his conquests still farther beyond the 
Jordan. 

He subdued Golan, Seleucia, the "vale of An- 
tiochus, and the fortress of Gamala. Re- 
turned from these conquests, Alexander be- 
came more quiet and luxurious, in consequence 
of which he contracted a quartan fever, from 
which he never recovered. He died in his 
camp, at the siege of Ray aba, a fortress be- 
yond Jordan, in the country of the Gerasens, 
having reigned twenty-seven years. He left 
a widow, Alexandra, who w T as to succeed him 
in the government, and two sons Hyrcanus 
and Aristobulus. And fearing the rage of 
the Pharisees, who were still the most numer- 
ous sect among the Jews, he enjoined upon 
his wife, before his death, to make her peace 
with them, and to be guided in her adminis- 



202 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

tration by their counsels. She followed his 
directions, and succeeded in obtaining for him 
an honorable burial, and for herself and her 
sons a quiet establishment in the government. 

It may appear to those, -who hear only of 
the wars and cruelties of these times that 
there were no pious people left in Israel — that 
the true church of God had become extinct. 
But this would be an unwarrantable conclu- 
sion. As in the days of Ahab, God reserved 
to himself seven thousand men who had not 
bowed the knee to Baal, so in these times there 
was undoubtedly a remnant. Down in the hum- 
bler walks of life, away from the tumult and 
the strife of kings, we may hope there were 
many, who loved the God of Israel, and 
served him in sincerity and truth. It was in 
these times, or near them, that good Zacha- 
riah and Elizabeth were born, — the father and 
mother of John the Baptist. In these times, 
also, were born Anna and Simeon, who were 
present in the temple, when the infant Saviour 
was brought there by his parents, " to do for 
him after the custom of the law." (Luke 2 : 
25—38.) 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 203 

In the year 89 before Christ commenced the 
war of the Romans against Mithriclates, king 
of Pontus. This, next to the Carthaginian 
wars, was the most terrible contest in which 
the Romans eyer engaged ; and Mithridates, 
next to Hannibal, was the most fearful 
enemy which they were ever called to en- 
counter. This war was begun by Lucius 
Cassius, Roman prefect of Pergamos ; was 
carried on chiefly by Sylla and Lucullus ; and 
was finished by Pompey, in the year before 
Christ 62. It continued with little cessation, 
for twenty-seven years. It brought the Ro- 
mans into contact with nearly all those parts 
of Asia which had constituted the old Grecian 
and Assyrian empires, and in its issue sub- 
jected all to their power. But it is not my 
purpose to speak of these conquests any far- 
ther than they affected, directly or indirectly, 
the concerns of the Jews. 

I have before said that the Syrians, tired of 
the dissensions of the Antiochian princes, had 
placed the government of their country in the 
hands of Tigranes, king of Armenia. In the 
progress of the Mithridatic war, in which Ti- 



204 



THE AXCIEXT CHURCH 



granes was deeply involved, Antiochus Asiati- 
cus, a son of Antiochus Eusebes, seized the 
government of Syria, and reigned there for 
several years. But when Poinpey came into 
Syria, in the year 64 before Christ, he took 
from him the sceptre, and put a final end to 
the empire of the Seleucidse, after it had con- 
tinued 258 years. From this time Syria, of 
which we have had occasion to speak so fre- 
quently, became a Roman province. 

Egypt was at this time too much enfeebled 
to exert much influence upon the surrounding 
nations. It claims notice here chiefly from 
the fact, that it contained a Jewish temple 
and altar, and a large body of the descendants 
of Israel. I have before remarked that, upon 
the death of Lathyrus, Alexander, a son of his 
deceased brother, came to the throne. He 
reigned, by the sufferance of the Romans, 
fifteen years, when the people rose against 
him, and drove him out of the kingdom. He 
died shortly after at Tyre. His successor 
was an illegitimate son of Lathyrus, called 
Ptolemy Auletes, or the Piper* He is said 
to have exceeded all the Ptolemies in effemi- 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 



205 



nacy, as much as his grandfather, Ptolemy 
Physcon, did in wickedness. Still, he was 
suffered to rule over Egypt fourteen years. 
Dying, he left the throne to his eldest son and 
daughter, Ptolemy and Cleopatra. This is 
that Cleopatra who afterwards became so fa- 
mous, or rather infamous, for her amours 
with Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, and other 
distinguished Eomans. Having procured the 
death of two of her brothers, she reigned over 
Egypt, for a time, alone. After the fall of 
Anthony, she caused herself to be bitten by 
an asp, and so died, in the thirtieth year 
before the birth of Christ. And in her ended 
the dynasty of the Ptolemies in Egypt, after it 
had continued, from the death of Alexander the 
great, 294 years. Erom this time, Egypt 
became a Roman province, and was governed 
by a praefect sent from Rome. 

Let us now come back a^ain to the history 
of the Jews. Alexander Janneus left his 
government, as I have said, to his queen 
Alexandra, to be held by her in reserve for 
her two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. 
Hyrcanus, who was a quiet man, she advanced 



206 the a:v:e5T chuech 

to the high-priesthood ; while to Aristobulus, 
who had more caracit™ and ambition, she gave 
:ie command of the am™. As. in obedience 
to her dying husband. Alexandra bad made 
her peace ~u;h the Pharisees, and consented 
to rule ace:: ding to their wishes, the" under- 
took the direction of her affairs. The™ re-es- 

rrisons. and se: those a: Lite nr. vrh? were 



same cause. Ihev instigated the queen to 
ru" c "me '~f tb ^ rrincira ; ut""'~ -•"■--■■ r ^ ,-.f the 

number, but that the queen, in order to save 
them, dispersed them in the garrisons and 

died in the year 69 before Christ, after a 
peaceful ana rristerius reign <:f nine years. 

She designated no one to succeed her, but 
:he Pharisees immediately placed Hyrcanus. 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 207 



her eldest son, upon the throne. Aristobulus, 
however, was intent upon reigning ; and being 
popular with the army, and having most of 
the garrisons under his control, he had every 
facility for carrying his purpose into effect. 
The question was ere long decided in battle, 
in which Hyrcanus was vanquished, and 
Aristobulus mounted the throne. Hyrcanus 
now retired into private life ; and there, could 
he have been left to his own preference, he 
would have remained. But there was about 
him one Antipater, the father of Herod, who 
professed the warmest attachment to him, and 
who persuaded him that he must either re- 
cover his crown, or die by the hands of Aris- 
tobulus. This Antipater was an Idumean by 
birth, who had embraced the Jews religion at 
the time when his people were proselyted by 
John Hyrcanus. At his instigation, the con- 
quered king fled to Aretas, an Arabian prince, 
who came with an army of fifty thousand men, 
with a view to replace him on his throne. 
Unable to withstand so great a force, Aristo- 
bulus retreated, and shut himself up in Jeru- 
salem. He was here closely besieged, and 



208 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

might have been taken, but that the Roman 
prsefect at Damascus interposed, and compelled 
Aretas to return to his own country. Hyr- 
canus, therefore, was again an exile, and Aris- 
tobulus kept possession of the throne. 

Not long after this, Pompey arrived at 
Damascus, where he was met by ambassadors, 
and loaded with rich presents^ from all the 
surrounding nations. Among the rest, Aris- 
tobulus and Hyrcanus appeared before him, to 
obtain a settlement of their disputes. Pompey 
listened to their respective statements, but 
deferred deciding the question between them 
until his return from an expedition into Arabia. 
Meanwhile, Aristobulus w T as strengthening his 
garrisons, and making all possible preparation 
for war ; which was an injury to hi& cause in 
the eyes of the Romans. 

On the return of Pompey, the courage of 
Aristobulus forsook him. He offered to sur- 
render all his fortified places, and to give a 
large sum of money, on condition that the war 
might cease. Pompey agreed to the proposal, 
and sent Gabinius, with a division of the army, 
to Jerusalem, to receive the stipulated sum. 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 209 

Bat when he arrived there, he found the gates 
shut against him, and no money was to be 
had. Pompey now invested the city, and by 
the help of Hyrcanus' party, soon gained ad- 
mission within the walls. Aristobulus and his 
followers retreated to the temple, where they 
hoped to be able to hold out for a long time. 
But Pompey brought up his military engines, 
and pressed on the siege with great vigor. 
He had an advantage over the Jews, on ac- 
count of their unwillingness to do any thing to 
oppose or hinder him on the Sabbath clay. 
At the end of three months, a breach was 
made in the wall, and the temple was taken. 
The Romans rushed in, and put twelve thou- 
sand of the Jews to the sword. Among these 
were many of the priests, who, being then en- 
gaged in the sacrifices, would not move from 
the altars, nor interrupt their rites, to escape 
the attack of their enemies. They were ac- 
cordingly slain, and their blood was mingled 
with their sacrifices. 

The temple was taken in midsummer of the 
year 63 before Christ, during the consulship 

of M. T. Cicero, on the very day which was 

is* 



210 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

observed, with fasting and lamentation, in 
commemoration of the conquest of Jerusalem 
by Nebuchadnezzar. Pompev, attended by 
his generals, went into the temple, even into 
the holy of holies ; but he left untouched all 
the sacred utensils, and even the treasures of 
the temple, amounting to two thousand talents 
of gold, and gave orders that the holy places 
should be purified, and divine service contin- 
ued as before. He appointed Hyrcanus to be 
high priest and prince of the country ; but 
forbade that he should wear a crown, or call 
himself king, or extend his territories beyond 
their ancient boundaries. 

Soon after this, Pompey returned to Rome, 
laden with the spoils of conquered countries, 
and attended by hundreds of noble prisoners 
to grace his triumph. Among these, were 
Aristobulus with his two daughters and two 
sons, Antigonus and Alexander. Before they 
arrived at Rome, however, Alexander con- 
trived to make his escape, and returning into 
Judea, soon gathered around him a little army. 
So long as he was opposed by Hyrcanus alone, 
he carried every thing before him ; but when 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 211 

the Romans came to the assistance of the high 
priest, Alexander was obliged to take refuge 
in a fortified castle. He was closely besieged, 
and in the end was obliged to submit ; after 
which Hyrcanus, for a time, continued to 
enjoy his honors unmolested. 

These, however, were more nominal than 
real ; for Gabinius, the Roman general, pro- 
ceeded to new model the Jewish government, 
making it rather an aristocracy than a mon- 
archy. He deprived the Sanhedrim of all 
authority, and setting up five independent 
tribunals in different parts of the country, he 
committed to them the power of administering 
justice, each in its respective District. This 
necessarily threw the whole power of the coun- 
try into the hands of the nobles who presided 
in these courts, leaving to Hyrcanus little 
more than a name. And so things continued 
for the next ten years, when Julius Caesar 
restored them to their ancient order. 

It was not long after this, that Aristobulus 
and his son Antigonus escaped from Rome, 
returned into Juclea, and made another at- 
tempt to recover their lost power. But it 



212 



ended, as Alexander's had done, in their 
defeat and capture ; though their condition 
wag so much bettered by it, that all the family, 
except Aristobulus, succeeded in obtaining 
their liberty. 

In the year 54 before Christ, Gabinius was 
removed from the government of Syria, and 
M, L. Crassus came into his place. But the 
province was not at all benefited by the 
change. Crassus was even more faithless and 
grasping than his predecessor. Soon after his 
arrival in the country, he came to Jerusalem, 
with his soldiers, that he might plunder the 
temple. Eleazer, who had charge of the 
treasures, promised him a bar of gold, weigh- 
ing three hundred minse, which was concealed 
in a beam at the entrance of the holy of holies, 
on condition that he would leave the remaining 
treasures untouched. This condition Crassus 
solemnly swore to observe ; but as soon as he 
had got possession of the golden bar, he pro- 
ceeded to rob the temple of ten thousand tal- 
ents more ; a sum exceeding two millions of 
pounds sterling, or ten millions of our money. 
But his ill-gotten treasure did him no good. 



UNDEB THE MACCABEES. 213 

He expended it in fitting out an expedition 
against the Parthians, in which he was drawn 
into an ambush, and put to death. So true is 
the declaration of Solomon, that " the robbery 
of the wicked shall destroy them." 

In the wars which now commenced between 
Caesar and Pompey, Aristobulus and his sons 
espoused the cause of Caesar, and were sent 
by him into Syria, that they might oppose the 
interests of Pompey there. But Aristobulus 
was poisoned, while on the journey, and his 
eldest son, Alexander, was seized and behead- 
ed in Judea. There remained, therefore, only 
Antigonus ; nor was Caesar, after his triumph 
over Pompey, at all inclined to show him favor. 
He continued Hyrcanus in the priesthood, 
abolished the courts which Gabinius had estab- 
lished, restored the government to its ancient 
form, and passing over entirely the claims of 
Antigonus, appointed two sons of Antipater, 
Phasael and Herod, the one to the govern- 
ment of Judea, and the other to that of 
Galilee. 

Julius C^sar had received much assistance 
from the Jews, especially during his campaign 



214 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

in Egypt ; and he showed himself their con- 
stant friend. Before leaving Egypt, he con- 
firmed all the privileges of the Egyptian Jews, 
and commemorated their important services 
by an inscription on a brazen pillar which he 
caused to be erected at Alexandria. And in 
Judea, the people are said to have enjoyed 
greater prosperity, during his brief adminis- 
tration, than they had done at any time since 
the Babylonish captivity. The walls of Jeru- 
salem were rebuilt, which Pompey had broken 
down ; the tribute due to Rome , was remitted 
every Sabbatical year ; while the affairs of the 
government were wisely administered, (under 
Hyrcanus as high priest) by Antipater and 
his two sons. It was at this time that Hyrca- 
nus sent to the Roman Senate a shield of gold 
of very great value ; upon which the Jews, 
by a decree of the Senate, were publicly 
acknowledged as the allies of the Romans. 

Herod, the youngest son of Antipater, was 
now governor of Galilee ; and he gave early 
proof of a bold and enterprising spirit. He 
attacked the robbers of Galilee, who were very 
numerous, and put all to death who fell in his 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 215 

power. By this means, he secured the confi- 
dence of the people, and of the prefect of 
Syria; but the Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, 
thinking he had made too free with human 
life, summoned him before them. He obeyed 
the summons ; but instead of appearing as a 
criminal, he presented himself before his judges 
armed, in a purple robe, and surrounded with 
his guards. The members of the Sanhedrim 
were confounded, and dare not proceed against 
him. But one old man, whom Josephus calls 
Sameas, reproved them for their cowardice, 
and assured them that the time would come, 
when Herod would not pardon them as readily 
as they now w T ere disposed to pardon him ; — 
a prediction which w r as literally fulfilled. 

The year 43 before Christ was a very long 
one. It was made to consist of four hundred 
and forty-five days, to compensate for the 
errors of the ancient calendar. The next 
year was fixed upon for the introduction of the 
new calendar, or for the commencement of the 
Julian year, consisting of 365 days and six 
hours. Two years after this, Caesar gave 
permission to the Jews to fortify Jerusalem. 



216 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

He also restored to them all that thev had 
formerly possessed, and confirmed them in the 
enjoyment of all their privileges. The same 
year (41 before Christ) while preparing to 
leave Eome on an expedition against the •» Par- 
tisans, this great man was treacherously mur- 
dered by Brutus, Cassius, and some others, in 
the senate house, after he had governed the 
Roman empire three years and six months. 

The death of Caesar was followed with much 
confusion, not only at Rome, but in all the 
provinces. Brutus and his party were obliged 
to flee from the city, leaving the direction of 
affairs chiefly in the hands of Mark Anthony 
and Octavius Csesar. This Octavius Caesar 
(afterwards the great Augustus Caesar) was 
a nephew of Julius Caesar, who claimed to be 
his adopted son and heir. After much con- 
tention between these two rivals for power, 
Lepidus was associated with them ; and thus 
was constituted a triumvirate, who thought to 
govern Rome. It was during their bloody 
administration that Cicero was put to death. 

Meanwhile, the East was in open rebellion 
against the triumvirate. The party of Brutus 



ODER THE MACCABEES. 217 



controlled all the country from the Euphrates 
to Maeedon. The fate of Brutus was decided 
in the battle of Philippi (in the year 39 before 
Christ) where he was defeated, and in despair 
put an end to his own life. The following 
year, the triumvirate divided the empire among 
themselves ; Lepidus receiving Africa, An- 
thony the East, and Octavius Csesar the West. 
Italy they agreed to hold in common. 

During these commotions, the Jews had no 
great reason to complain of the Romans, ex- 
cept that oppressive pecuniary exactions were 
sometimes made upon them. But they had 
frequent disturbances among themselves. An- 
tipater was put to death by one Malichus, a 
Jew, through envy that an Idumean should 
have so much influence at Jerusalem. Next, 
Phasael and Herod slew Malichus, that they 
might avenge the death of their father. Hyr- 
canus, the high priest, espoused at first the 
cause of Malichus ; but not being able to 
resist the two brothers, he was fain to make 
his peace with them, by giving Mariamne, his 
beautiful granddaughter, to Herod to wife. 

The discontented among the Jews made re- 

19 



218 THE AXCIEXT CHURCH 

peated solicitations to Anthony against Herod ; 
but all without effect. They then recalled 
Antigonus, the surviving son of Aristobulus, 
into Palestine, intending to place him on his 
father's throne ; but he was defeated by 
Herod, and compelled, for a time, to relinquish 
his purpose. 

But Herod's turn at length came to expe- 
rience reverses and defeat. While Anthony 
was dallying in the embraces of Cleopatra in 
Egypt, the Parthians, assisted by some dis- 
contented Romans, seized the opportunity to 
invade Western Asia, and were carrying all 
before them. Not daring to encounter them 
single-handed, Herod fled, first to Arabia, 
and then to Egypt in pursuit of Anthony ; 
but not finding him there, he passed on 
to Rome. Meanwhile, Antigonus, by the 
help of the Parthians, — which help he pur- 
chased for a thousand talents, and five hun- 
dred female slaves, — took upon himself the 
government of Judea. He seized his vener- 
able uncle Hyrcanus, cut off his ears, and 
gave him into the hands of the Parthians. 
Phasael, the brother of Herod, he meant to 
have crucified ; but his victim anticipated him 



UNDER THE MACCABEES. 219 

by putting an end to his own life. He now 
garrisoned Jerusalem, and provided it with 
ample stores, intending, if attacked, to hold 
out to the last extremity. 

Nor were these precautions needless. Herod 
pleaded his cause so effectually at Rome, that 
he obtained a grant of the crown of Judea for 
himself, and the assistance of a Roman army 
to put him in possession of it. Thus furnished, 
he was again in Palestine sooner than could 
have been anticipated, to renew the war. 
After various reverses and delays, which it is 
not necessary to recapitulate, he at length 
drove Antigonus within the walls of his capi- 
tal, where he closely besieged him with an 
army of sixty thousand men. After a despe- 
rate resistance, which continued about a year, 
Jerusalem was again taken by storm and 
suffered the extreme rigor of military execu- 
tion. Enraged at the obstinate defence which 
the Jews had made, the Romans continued to 
massacre and pillage, after all resistance had 
ceased ; and to prevent the total destruction 
of his capital, Herod was obliged to buy them 
off with a large sum of money. Twenty-seven 



220 



years before this, and at the same time in the 
year, Jerusalem had been taken and sacked 
by Pompey.* 

The fate of Antigonus was such as he had 
reason to expect. Anthony was inclined to 
spare him for the purpose of gracing his tri- 
umph at Rome ; but at the solicitation of 
Herod he was condemned to death, and was 
executed by the axe of the lictor, like a com- 
mon malefactor. And thus ended the Asmo- 
nean dynasty, after it had subsisted a hundred 
and twenty-six years ; — " a noble and illustri- 
ous house," says Josephus, " distinguished by 
their descent, by the dignity of their pontifi- 
cate, and by the great exploits of their ances- 
tors for the Jews." 

In the year 37 before Christ, Herod took 
possession of the throne of Judea ; not as an 
independent sovereign, but as subject and 
tributary to the Romans. Of the circumstan- 
ces of his reign I shall speak in the following 
chapter. 

* At the same time of the year, Jerusalem was taken and 
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, viz., on the ninth day of the 
Jewish month Tammuz, or about midsummer with us. 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 221 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Reign of Herod. His immediate De- 
scendants. The Birth of Christ. 

In the last chapter, I pursued the history of 
the Jewish state to the termination of the 
Syrian and Egyptian dynasties, by which it 
had been successively ruled ; also, of the 
Asinonean dynasty, under which it assumed, 
for a time, a degree of independence ; and 
down the broad pathway of the Roman domin- 
ion, to the time of Herod. Under the trium- 
virate, which w r as still in power, Anthony had 
the chief government of the East, and Herod 
was a tributary under him. Of the ' principal 
events of Herod's checkered and eventful 
administration, I am now to speak. 

Herod commenced his reign by murdering 
most of the Jewish nobles who had opposed 
him. He condemned to death all the mem- 
bers of the Sanhedrim, except Sameas and 

19* 



ZZZ THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Pollio, who are said by the Jews to be the 
same as Shanmiai and Hillel, the founders of 
two separate schools. He exalted to the high 
priesthood Ananel, a common priest from 
Babylon, who had neither connections nor 
influence to render him dangerous. Hyrca- 
nus, who had been so long high priest, and 
who was now living in exile among the Par- 
tisans, Herod invited back to Jerusalem ; but 
it was only to ensnare him, and accomplish his 
destruction. At the earnest request of Mari- 
amne, his wife, who was a granddaughter of 
Hyrcanus, Herod deposed Ananel from the 
pontificate, when he had held it only two 
years, and put Aristobulus into his place. 
This Aristobulus was a brother of Mariamne, 
and a very desirable young man. But Herod 
soon grew jealous of him, and caused him also 
to be put to death. 

But by this act of cruelty, he endangered 
his own life to Anthony. For Alexandra, the 
mother of the murdered young man, accused 
Herod to Cleopatra, and Cleopatra to Antho- 
ny ; and he was summoned to Laodicea to 



223 



give an account of himself. But by flatteries 
and bribes, Herod succeeded in satisfying his 
Roman master, and came off in safety. 

Meanwhile, the triumvirate which for sev- 
eral years had governed Rome, was hastening 
to its dissolution. First, Octavius had a 
quarrel with Lepidus, defeated him, and 
obliged him to retire into private life. The 
empire was now in the hands of Octavius 
and Anthony. But Anthony, instead of ex- 
erting himself as a wise man should, was 
wasting his time and forfeiting his character 
and influence, in the arms of Cleopatra. He 
was either with her at Alexandria, or she must 
be with him, wherever the affairs of the public 
required his presence. At one time he had 
proceeded as far as Antioch on an expedition 
against the Parthians, when Cleopatra sent 
after him that she was sick of love, and should 
certainly die, if he did not return. So he 
gave up all thoughts of the Parthian war, and 
hastened back to the embrace of his mistress. 

This ensnaring and wicked connection at 
length proved the ruin of Anthony ; for in 



224 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

addition to the neglect and consequent confu- 
sion of public affairs, it brought him into 
direct conflict with Octavius. Anthony had a 
wife all this time at Rome, and she was the 
sister of Octavius ; and it could not be ex- 
pected that he would look coldly on, and see 
the honor of his sister sacrificed to the influ- 
ence of a harlot. 

Octavius declared war against Anthony 
in the spring of the year 30 before Christ. 
Two years afterwards, the question between 
them was decided in a sea fight at Actium, 
where Anthony was beaten. His land forces 
now forsook him, and very soon his affairs 
became desperate. Even Cleopatra turned 
against him at the last, hoping thereby to 
ingratiate herself with his rival ; but in this 
she was .disappointed. Both Anthony and 
Cleopatra fell by their own hands, in the year 
27 before Christ. From this time Octavius, 
or (as he was afterwards called) Augustus, 
became the virtual emperor of Rome ; though 
he declined using the title, and kept up an 
appearance of the ancient republican forms 



UXDER THE ROMANS. 



225 



of government. From Egypt he returned 
through Asia Minor and Greece to Rome, 
where he arrived in the following year, in the 
month Sextilis, or the sixth month, which is 
still called August, after his own name. The 
previous month is called July, from Julius 
Caesar. ' 

Herod warmly espoused the cause of Antho- 
ny, and continued to assist him as long as 
there was any hope. But when all hope of 
success had failed, he resolved, if possible, to 
make his peace with Augustus. He was aware 
that this was a doubtful undertaking, and 
before entering upon it, he placed his favorite 
wife Mariamne and her mother in the castle 
of Alexandrium, with strict orders to the com- 
mandant to put both of them to death, when- 
ever they should receive certain notice that 
he had been siain. After these preparations, 
Herod set forward to meet Augustus, and 
found him refreshing himself at Rhodes. Hav- 
ing been admitted to his presence he laid his 
crown aside, and frankly acknowledged all 
that he had done for Anthony, and what a 



226 



faithful friend he had been to him, so long as 
his good offices were accepted. " And now," 
says he, addressing himself to Augustus, " I 
propose to be the same to you. I am in your 
power, and at your disposal, will you accept of 
such a friend ? " Augustus, who had at first 
exerted himself to procure the crown of Judea 
for Herod, was pleased with his frankness, 
accepted his proposals, and confirmed him in 
his kingdom. 

Herod returned to Judea much elated with 
his success, and found the state of affairs such 
as he could wish, except that his beloved wife 
Mariamne, who had learned his murderous 
order respecting her, was in great trouble, and 
her affections were entirely alienated from her 
husband. She repelled with disdain all his 
attempts to please her, and to promote a 
reconciliation with her. She reproached him 
with the murder of her family, — her father, 
her brother, her uncle Antigonus, and her 
grandfather Hyrcanus. She reproached his 
mother and sister, on account of the meanness 
of their birth ; and they, in turn, made every 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 227 

exertion to excite the hatred of Herod against 
her. These domestic troubles continued and 
increased, till they could be endured no longer. 
Herod added another to the list of his mur- 
ders. He caused Mariamne to be put to death 
on the false charge of adultery. 

But this new cruelty, instead of relieving, 
served only to aggravate his distress. Such 
was his remorse for his crimes, and his anguish 
in remembrance of his murdered wife, that he 
withdrew from all society, and shut himself up 
in Samaria, where he was attacked with dan- 
gerous disease. He at length recovered, but 
his afflictions were not sanctified to him. So 
far from softening, they tended only to harden 
his heart. He became more ferocious and 
tyrannical than ever, and on the slightest sus- 
picions, would order his best friends to be put 
to death. 

When the Asmonean family had been all 
removed, and there were no longer any aspi- 
rants to the throne, Herod began openly to 
introduce innovations upon the Jewish cus- 
toms. He built a theatre at Jerusalem, and 



228 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



an amphitheatre, in which games were cele- 
brated every fifth year, in honor of Augustus. 
These were a cause of great dissatisfaction to 
the Jews, and a band of them conspired to- 
gether to assassinate Herod, as he was going 
into the theatre. The conspirators were dis- 
covered and executed ; and many others were 
executed with them, as being implicated in the 
plot. 

Finding that he could no longer trust his 
subjects, Herod proceeded to erect fortresses 
for his own security, and to garrison them 
with foreign soldiers, hired for the purpose. 
He fortified Samaria, which had been de- 
stroyed by John Hyrcanus, and rebuilt, but 
not fortified, by the praefect Gabinius. He 
fortified Strabo's tower, a strong castle in the 
plain of Esdrselon, and called it Cesarea. He 
also built Gaba, in Galilee, and Heshbon, in 
Perea. 

Still, Herod was not indifferent to the good 
opinion of his subjects. He valued it highly, 
and often made great sacrifices in order to 
obtain it. In the year 22 before Christ, there 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 229 

was a distressing drought in Palestine, followed 
by famine, and its usual concomitant — pesti- 
lence. Herod exhausted his treasury, and 
even sold the plate from his table, for the pur- 
pose of procuring provisions from Egypt. At 
this time, most of the sheep in the country 
were slaughtered, both on account of the scar- 
city of provisions, and because the drought 
had destroyed the pasturage. Herod, at his 
own expense, procured great quantities of 
wool, in order to supply his people with cloth- 
ing. By kindnesses such as these, he did 
something to abate the hatred of his subjects ; 
but soon his government became again so ty- 
rannical, that all remembrance of his favors 
was obliterated. 

When Palestine had recovered, in some 
degree, from the effects of famine, Herod com- 
menced building him a splendid palace after 
the Grecian style of architecture, on Mount 
Zion. He built, also, a castle, called Hero- 
dium, which was afterwards his tomb. He 
was exceedingly fond of architecture, and 
erected many splendid edifices in different 

20 



230 



THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



parts of his dominions, hoping thereby to immor- 
talize his fame. About this time, Herod sent 
the two sons which his murdered Mariamne 
had borne to him, to Rome to be educated. 
Augustus received them with great favor, and 
in token of confidence still further enlarged the 
dominions of Herod. 

But his increase of power gave him no ad- 
ditional favor with the Jews. They distrusted 
him, they hated him, and were watching an 
opportunity to rise against him. This led him 
to institute a stricter espionage, and a more 
rigorous government over them. He forbade 
all assemblages of the people, under the sever- 
est penalties. He employed a great number 
of spies, and spared no pains or expense to 
make them diligent and faithful. He fre- 
quently disguised himself, and went out secret- 
ly among the people, that he might learn their 
real sentiments respecting him. Many of those 
who were discontented and refractory were 
by these means discovered, and were put to 
death. He at length required the whole body 
of his people (with the exception of a few who 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 231 

deemed all oaths unlawful) to bind themselves 
to him by an oath of allegiance. 

In the year 16 before Christ, Herod formed 
the design of erecting a new temple at Jerusa- 
lem, on a larger scale, and in a style of greater 
magnificence than the old one. He laid his 
project before the people at one of the great 
festivals, when many were brought together at 
Jerusalem ; and when he found that they dis- 
trusted his intentions, he promised not to 
demolish the old temple, till the materials for 
the new one should be all in readiness. Two 
years were spent in collecting materials ; and 
then the old temple was taken down gradually, 
as its parts could be replaced by those of the 
new building. In this way, the Jews were 
never without a temple, and the new building 
seemed but an improved continuation of the 
old. Thus the temple which was standing in 
the time of Christ is sometimes spoken of as 
the second temple, though with more propriety 
it may be called the third ; and the prophecy 
of Haggai, that the glory of the latter house 
should exceed that of the former, in that it 



232 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 



should receive " the desire of all nations/' was 
fulfilled. (Hag. 2: 7—9.) 

The main body of the new temple was com- 
pleted in nine years and a half ; but the whole 
structure, including the courts and cloisters, 
was not finished till long after the death of 
Herod, nor until years after the death of 
Christ. Hence the Jews said to our Saviour 
(improving a little upon our English transla- 
tion,) " forty and six years has this temple 
been in building, and wilt thou rear it up in 
three days ?" (John 2 : 20.) Just forty-six 
years before this declaration was made, Herod 
entered upon the work of the temple. The 
work was continued, and artificers were em- 
ployed in it during the whole period that our 
Saviour was on earth.* It was finally com- 
pleted under the administration of Gessius 
Florus, only a few years before the destruction 
of Jerusalem by the Romans. 

* There is an allusion to this fact in the gospels. " His 
disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 11 
Matt. 24 : 1. " Master, see what manner of stones, and icliat 
buildings are here." Mark 13 : 1. These expressions imply, 
that the "\voife of the temple was now in progress. 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 233 

The year after he had commenced building 
the temple, Herod made a journey to Rome, 
where he was received with much favor by 
Augustus. On his return, he took his two 
sons with him, w r ho had before been sent to 
Rome to be educated. The one of them he 
married to a daughter of Archelaus, king of 
Cappadocia, and the other to a daughter of his 
sister Salome. 

The following year, Agrippa, the son-in-law 
of Augustus, and governor under him of all the 
East, made a visit to Jerusalem. He was re- 
ceived with the greatest honor, not only by 
Herod, but by all the people, and nothing was 
omitted which could contribute to his gratifi- 
cation. Nor was Agrippa insensible of the 
honors conferred upon him. He brought 
a hecatomb of offerings to the temple, and 
made a feast to all the people. Soon after 
this, and at the intercession of Herod, Agrippa, 
confirmed to the Jews in Ionia, Asia Minor, 
and in other places, their religious freedom, 
exempted them from military service, and con- 
ferred upon them other important privileges. 

20* 



234 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

I have just stated that Herod, on his return 
from Borne, took his two sons with him. These 
had not been long at Jerusalem, before the 
other members of his family began to envy 
them, and to excite the suspicions of their 
father against them. The young princes 
were not always as prudent as they should 
have been, and every incautious word they 
dropped, or deed they performed, was seized 
upon and magnified, to fan the flame of 
Herod's jealousy, and involve them in new 
troubles. This difficulty continued, with some 
intervals of quiet, but on the whole waxing 
worse and worse, till, in the third year before 
the birth of our Saviour, these innocent young 
men were condemned and executed. And 
then — when the deed was done, and could not 
be recalled — the eyes of the wretched father 
were opened. He had full proof furnished 
him, not only of the innocence of his mur- 
dered children, but that those members of his 
family (his brother Pheroras, and his eldest 
son Antipater) who had been their chief ac- 
cusers, were really guilty of a conspiracy 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 235 

against bis life. They had resolved to take 
him off by poison, and would have accom- 
plished their purpose, but that Pheroras was 
taken sick and died. The whole plot was dis- 
covered soon after his death, and Antipater 
was publicly executed. 

But the end of Herod's bloody career was 
now come. He was seized with his last sick- 
ness. He had a violent internal fever, his in- 
testines were ulcerated, his feet were swollen, 
his breath was fetid, and like Antiochus 
Epiphanes, he J was literally eaten of worms. 
He now gave up all hope of recovery, and 
made preparations for leaving the world. He 
appointed his son Archelaus to be his suc- 
cessor in the kingdom of Judea ; made Herod 
Antipas, another son, tetrarch of Galilee ;~ 
and Philip, a younger son, tetrarch of Gau- 
lonitis, Trachonitis, and other provinces in the 
northeast part of Palestine. He gave rich 
presents to the emperor Augustus, to his wife 
Julia, and to other relatives and friends, and 
died — in the utmost distress both of body and 
mind — in the seventieth year of his age, and 
the thirty-seventh of his reign. 



236 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

Well knowing how much the Jews hated 
him, he called together some of the principal 
men of the nation just before his death, con- 
fined them in the hippodrome, and gave strict 
orders to his attendants to massacre them, as 
soon as he had breathed his last ; that so there 
might be a mourning when he was gone. But 
this cruel order was not executed. His corpse 
was carried with great pomp to Herodium, 
near Jericho, and there laid in a sepulchre 
which he had himself prepared. 

The character of Herod may be given in 
few words. He was ambitious of power, and 
altogether unscrupulous as to the means of 
securing it. He was suspicious, jealous, fond 
of magnificence and display, blood-thirsty, 
and cruel to the last degree. The murders 
which he committed in his own family — to say 
nothing of the thousands whom he sacrificed 
out of it — are full proof of this. So harshly 
did he treat his own children, that it passed 
into a proverb, " Better be Herod's hog, than 
his son." And yet he may be said, in the com- 
mon acceptation of the terms, to have been a 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 



237 



lucky man. In repeated instances, he seemed 
on the very brink of ruin, and escaped, and 
rose to power, when he had the least reason 
to expect it. Nor was he without some re- 
deeming qualities. He knew how to show 
kindness to his people, when he could do it 
safely, and to his own advantage. And he 
managed to hold the Jewish State together, 
and to maintain its honor and its power, until 
Shiloh came, and the promises of the Messiah 
were fulfilled. 

But this brings me to an event, which took 
place a little previous to the death of Herod, 
and which was of more importance to the world 
than any which had before transpired : The 
birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The precise 
year of his birth is not certainly known. Ac- 
cording to the vulgar reckoning, which was 
fixed by Dionysius Exiguus (in connection 
with one of the Popes) in the sixth century, 
Christ was born in the year of the world 4004 ; 
but we have good reason to believe that his 
birth was several years earlier than this. We 
certainly know that it took place before the 



238 THE ANCIENT CHUKCH 

death of Herod ; and Herod died, probably 
in the year of the world 4001. This would 
fix our Saviour's birth in the year 4000. 

"We arrive at the same conclusion from 
another datum furnished in the gospels. It 
appears from Luke 8 : 1, that Jesus was 
" about thirty years of age," in " the fifteenth 
year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar;" or in 
the 4030th year of the world. Deducting 
thirty years from this, makes the date of 
Christ's birth the 4000th year of the world, 
as before. And this agrees with an old tra- 
dition of the Jews, that the world was to stand 
six thousand years ; two thousand of which 
were to be before the law, two thousand under 
the law, and two thousand under the Messiah. 

It is commonly said that, at the birth of 
Christ, the temple of Janus was shut, it being 
a time of universal peace. But this rests en- 
tirely on the authority of Orosius, who wrote 
in the fifth century. There is no allusion to 
such a circumstance in any more ancient 
writer. That it was a time of general peace 
in the Roman empire, is certain; but' that 



UNDER THE ROMANS. 239 

there were no wars ; that peace prevailed uni- 
versally, is more than we are able to affirm. 

Of the events immediately connected with 
the birth of our Saviour, we have no mention 
in secular history ; nor could this have been 
reasonably expected. The wise men who came 
to the court of Herod from the East were, 
probably, Magians from Babylonia or Persia. 
The murder of the children at Bethlehem ac- 
cords well with the suspicious, cruel temper of 
Herod, and must have been among the last 
acts of his life. 

According to Josephus, Herod had nine 
wives, and many children. Three of his sons, 
as before related, he put to death. Archelaus 
succeeded him on the throne of Judea. It 
was through fear of him, that Joseph and 
Mary, on their return from Egypt, declined 
settling in Judea, but " turned aside into the 
parts of Galilee. 5 ' Archelaus reigned ten 
years, when, for his great wickedness, he was 
deposed by Augustus, and banished into Gaul. 

Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee. 
He divorced the wife of his youth, and mar- 



240 THE ANCIENT CHURCH 

ried Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Being 
reproved for this by John the Baptist, he 
seized his reprover, shut him up in prison, and 
then (to gratify his adulterous wife and wicked 
daughter) put him to death. (Mat. 14 : 
1 — 12.) This is the Herod who was at Je- 
rusalem, and who made friends with Pilate, at 
the time of our Saviour's crucifixion. He, 
with his wife Herodias, were afterwards ban- 
ished to Lyons in Gaul. 

Of Philip, the tetrarch of Ituraea, Tracho- 
nitis and Gaulonitis, little is known, except 
that his brother took away his wife, and that 
he died early. 

Of the grandchildren of Herod, the most 
distinguished was Herod Agrippa, who " killed 
James the brother of John with the sword," 
and intended 6 - to take Peter also," but was 
miraculously prevented. (Acts 12: 1, 2.) 
After passing through many changes in the 
early part of his life, Caligula made him king 
of what had been the tetrarchy of his uncle 
Philip. Upon the death of Caligula, Clau- 
dius gave him the entire kingdom of his grand- 



241 



father Herod. He reigned over Judea about 
three years, and died in the wretched manner 
described in the Acts of the Apostles. " The 
angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave 
not God the glory; and he -was eaten of 
■worms, and gave up the ghost." (Acts 12 : 
23.) The Herodias, who instigated the mur- 
der of John the Baptist, was his sister. 

This first king Agrippa left a son Agrippa, 
who became a king, and reigned over several 
provinces in the northern part of Palestine. 
Drusilla, the wife of Felix, was his sister. 
(Acts 24 : 24.) He had another sister Ber- 
nice, whom he kept constantly with him, and 
with whom he is said to have lived in habitual 
incest. This is that king Agrippa before whom 
Paul pleaded his cause at Cesarea, as recorded 
in Acts 26. No wonder that he was not per- 
suaded to be a Christian. 



21 



242 THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 



CONCLUSION. 

I have thus fulfilled the promise which I made 
to my readers, at the commencement of this 
work. I have connected summarily, the chain 
of history between the Old and the New Tes- 
taments. I have traced the story of God's 
dealings with his ancient covenant penple, — 
of their revivings and backslidings, of their 
depressions, persecutions, distresses, and deliv- 
erances, from the time of the captivity in 
Babylon to the death of the first Herod, and 
the appearance of the Son of God in the 
flesh. 

We first found the people of God in bond- 
age to the proud monarch of Babylon. They 
then came under the power of a long succes- 
sion of Medo-Persian kings, beginning with Da- 
rius the Mede, and ending with Darius Codo- 
manus. Next, for a short time, they were 
governed by Alexander the Great ; next by 
the Ptolemies ; and next by the kings of Syria. 



243 



Breaking away from their cruel oppressions, 
v> 7 e next find this remarkable people sitting un- 
der the rule of princes of their own race, and 
enjoying a measure of political independence. 
But to retain this, they were under the ne- 
cessity of allying themselves with Rome, and 
the Roman power swallowed them up, as it 
did all the world besides. Herod and his im- 
mediate descendants were Jews in religion, 
but Idumeans by birth, whose principal object 
was to please the Romans, and whose whole 
influence went to break down the spirit and 
corrupt the religion of the Jewish people. 

The history over w T hich we have passed is 
fitted to teach, and to impress upon us, some 
important lessons. 

1. The natural tendency of things in this 
apostate w T orld is downwards; downwards, I 
mean, in a moral point of view. This lesson 
is solemnly impressed upon us by all history. 
In the days before the flood, men continued to 
wax worse and worse, and the earth to become 
more filled with violence, until naught re- 
mained but that God must destroy it for its 



244 THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 

wickedness. And after the flood, the true 
religion was quickly lost. " Men did not like 
to retain God in their knowledge and so he 
" gave them up to vile affections," and abomi- 
nable practices, reserving only one family to 
himself. And the members of this family, 
notwithstanding their many privileges and re- 
straints, — how frequently and dreadfully they 
relapsed. Through the whole period of their 
history, they had their seasons of correction 
and revival ; but soon they would fall back 
again into the grossest wickedness. 

So it was, very specially in that period of 
their history over which we have passed. 
Most dreadfully had this people backslidden 
and become corrupted, and most terribly were 
they chastised, in the destruction of their city 
and temple, and in their consequent captivity, 
under Nebuchadnezzar. After a long period 
of exile and suffering, the day of their deliver- 
ance at length arrived. Zerubbabel, Jeshua, 
Ezra, Xehemiah, and other holy men were 
raised up, under whom they were revived, and 
their lost privileges were in good measure re- 



CONCLUSION. 245 

stored. But the influence of this revival was 
of short duration. When the honored instru- 
ments by whom it had been effected were re- 
moved, and consequent restraints were taken 
away, the nation fell back into courses of 
dreadful wickedness ; and they needed other 
and heavier chastisements for their recovery. 
And when these had been inflicted, under the 
bloody hand of Antiochus Bpiphanes, until the 
nation was humbled, and in some good meas- 
ure prepared for deliverance ; then again the 
hour of deliverance came. Matthias and his 
valiant sons were raised up to meet the crisis, 
and restore to Israel the privileges they had 
lost. 

But the influence of this revival, like those 
which had preceded it, was of short duration. 
The seeds of corruption were in the hearts 
even of God's people ; they quickly germi- 
nated ; and bitter" fruits began to appear. 
The descendants of good Matthias, after the 
second generation, became grossly wicked, 
and the people were oppressed and corrupted 
by them. 

21* 



246 THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 

And so it has been in every age ; so it will 
he while human nature remains the same. 
This human nature is a fallen nature. It is a 
corrupted nature. All history as well as 
Scripture proclaims the fact ; and under its 
influence, the moral tendency of things in this 
world is forever downwards, from good to bad, 
and from bad to worse. 

2. -Another lesson which the history over 
which we have passed is fitted to teach, is that 
of God's love and faithfulness to Ids church. 
God has had a church on the earth from the 
beginning to the present time ; but its exist- 
ence is owing, not to any inherent virtue in 
man, but entirely to his own love and faithful- 
ness. Were it not for these, how often, and 
how hopelessly, must the church have been 
swallowed up ! Why was it not drowned in 
the deluge ? Why was it not crushed and 
consumed in Egypt ? Why did it survive the 
captivity at Babylon ? Why was it not utterly 
destroyed, (as the tyrant often threatened,) 
under the bloody hand of Antiochus Epipha- 
nes ? How was the holy fire kept alive, 



CONCLUSION. 247 

through those long centuries of darkness, 
when there was no voice of prophecy, no open 
vision, and nothing to cheer the desponding 
people of God, but the promise of a Shiloh to 
come ? The answer to all these questions is 
the same. God loves his church. He re- 
members it even in the darkest times. He 
kindly and constantly watches over it. He is 
inviolably faithful to preserve it. The chas- 
tisements which he inflicts upon his backsliding 
people are no evidence of unfaithfulness, but 
the contrary. " Vfhom the Lord loveth he 
chasteneth." It is in mercy that he applies 
the rod. This is one of the means which he 
employs, and a needful one, of preservation 
and ultimate victory. 

3. That portion of history over which we 
have passed should strengthen ourfaitli in the 
truth of God's Word, and in the perfection of 
his government. The preservation of the 
church, notwithstanding all the dangers to 
which it has been exposed, — the preservation 
of the Jews as a distinct people, in fulfillment 
of the promises made to their fathers, — this 



248 THE ANCIENT CHUKCH. 

fact is alone sufficient to establish our faith. 
Then there is the fulfillment of prophecy, 
numerous instances of which we have been led 
to notice. Some of these instances are so re- 
markable as to lead the infidel madly to affirm 
that they must be historical, and not propheti- 
cal ; that they must have been written after 
thq alleged time of their fulfillment. Now 
every such prediction is a revelation from God. 
It can be accounted for in no other way. 
Hence, the book containing these predictions, 
and of which they constitute an integral part, 
must be Gfod's look, — the word, the will, the 
revelation of God. 

But the history over which we have passed 
is calculated to establish our faith in God, in 
another sense. I mean in the wisdom and 
'perfection of his government. "We see the 
wisdom of this government shining out even in 
the darkest times ; leading the church along in 
the right way, though often a mysterious way ; 
raising up deliverers for it when most needed ; 
crushing its proud and persecuting enemies ; 
and that, too, so signally, in repeated instances, 



CONCLUSION. 



as to lead all men to exclaim : " Verily, there 
is a God who judgeth in the earth !" " The 
Lord is known by the judgments which he ex- 
ecuted !" 

4. We further see, in the history which 
has been before us, that Christ made his ap- 
pearance in our world at the right time. He 
is said to have come " in the f ullness of time 
which may mean, perhaps, the right time, the 
best time. Events had not so fully shown the 
vanity of all other dependences, and the per- 
ishing need in which the world stood of a 
Deliverer from heaven, until about the time 
when he actually appeared in the flesh. God 
had been using experiments, so to speak, from 
the beginning, to impress this great idea upon 
the hearts of men ; but these experiments had 
not been completed, and their results made 
up, till about the time of which we speak. 
There was the experiment of Ions; life — a long 
probation, in the first age of the world ; and 
the experiment of sore and awful judgments, 
as of the deluge, and the destruction of Sodom, 
and of Pharaoh ; and the experiment of heathen 



250 THE ANCIENT CHURCH. 

philosophy and idolatry ; and the experiment 
of civil government, under various forms ; and 
the experiment of separating a single family 
and nation, and bestowing upon it peculiar 
privileges ; — all these experiments for the re- 
covery of lost men had been tried, and failed, 
except the last, and this seemed likely soon to 
fail ; when, — in our greatest extremity, and as 
the last effort which could be made for us, — ■ 
God sent into the world his only Son. He 
" came to seek and to save the lost." His 
name was called Jesus, because he should 
" save his people from their sins." In this 
view, we have reason to be thankful that 
Christ came when he did ; — no sooner, no 
later ; when the way had been fully prepared 
for him ; when the world had come to feel, in 
some measure, its need of him. He came, as 
the Scriptures represent, in the fullness of 
time — the best time. 

Finally, the study of that portion of history 
over which we have passed will be of use, in 
preparing us the better to read and understand 
the Bible, both the Old Testament and the 



CONCLUSION. 



251 



New. Most of the Old Testament history is 
too ancient to connect, cotemporaneously, with 
any secular history of the world. We cannot 
compare it, except in a few incidental particu- 
lars, if we would. But when we come down 
to the time of the captivity — the age of 
Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel, and Ezra, and 
Nehemiah, the comparison, to some extent, 
may be made. The secular historian there 
meets us ; and who does not see, that it must 
throw light on the brief records of the sacred 
history, and impart to it a fresh interest, to 
find its statements confirmed and illustrated in 
the histories of the times. 

And then, when we have waded through 
the long, dark, intervening period, with no 
hand to guide us but that of the secular his- 
torian, and begin to emerge into the light of 
the New Testament ; how interesting to find 
that the same characters which we read of in 
the Gospels, and in the Acts, are portrayed 
also, and some of them with much greater full- 
ness, in the secular histories over which we 
have passed. We read in the New Testament 



252 



THE AXCIENT CHURCH. 



of Herod, and Archelaus, and Antipas, and 
Philip, and Herodias, and the two Agrippas, 
and Pilate, and Felk, and Festus, and many 
others. But when we look into J osephus, and 
Tacitus, and the other histories of the times, 
w T e find the same names and characters more 
fully drawn out, all agreeing as to time, and 
place, and other circumstances, with the state- 
ments -of the Bible. We thus gain a better 
understanding of the Bible. We read it with 
new interest and pleasure. Our faith in its 
truth and accuracy is confirmed, and we are 
the better prepared to yield ourselves up to 
its holy teachings, guidance, and influence. 

May we all thus study and [love the sacred 
Word. May we receive its truths, and obey 
its precepts. May we give diligent heed to it, 
in all life's pilgrimage, as to a light shining in 
a dark place. 



AAAAAAAAAAAA 




THE END. 
IA/IA/\A/W\/V W 



U^BY OF CONGRESS 



008 933 900 



5 • 



